PARIS, May 22: More than any other Grand Slam tournament, the French Open tends to crown unexpected winners. This year should be no exception.

World number one Pete Sampras has been unable to win a match on clay this season and had to pull out of the World Team Cup this week with a thigh strain.

Defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov has endured a season interrupted by injury and looks unlikely to repeat last year's feat when he became the first Russian to win a Grand Slam event.

Once unbeatable on the slow surface, Austrian Thomas Muster has yet to win a tournament on clay this season.

Andre Agassi has pulled out with a wrist injury and Boris Becker has withdrawn with an unspecified complaint.

Past winners Jim Courier and Sergi Bruguera have been doing a little bit better this year than in a lacklustre 1996 but are still far from their peak.

By contrast, the Spanish Armada have been even more impressive than usual on clay this season with Alex Corretja their new leader, but since Bruguera beat Alberto Berasategui in the 1994 final, Spaniards have failed to confirm here their fine results in previous clay court tournaments.

Croatian Goran Ivanisevic and Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek have recorded some good results on clay in the past but are far too inconsistent.

As a result, Michael Chang and Marcelo Rios, the two shortest players in the top 20, but also the best runners behind their baseline may be the safest bests.

Chang, an unexpected winner here in 1989, lost in the final in 1995. Given the circumstances, he could well go one step further this year. Like Sampras, Chang has struggled on clay this season, losing in the first round in Rome as well as in the American Red Clay Court Championships.

But after a perfect hardcourt season, the world number two looks like he just needs practice on the surface to shine again. ``I haven't made the transition yet,'' he said last week in Rome.

Rios, on the other hand, has been with Corretja the most successful player on clay this year, beating the Spaniard in Monte Carlo before losing against him in the Rome final.

It remains to be seen whether the talented Chilean can stand the pressure of two weeks of five setters. The same applies to Corretja, who had his best season ever with wins in Estoril and Rome.

``The next step will be to win a Grand Slam,'' he said after his victory in the Italian Open.

The 23-year-old Catalan leads yet another impressive Spanish squad including Bruguera, Berasategui, Albert Costa, Carlos Moya, Felix Mantilla, Carlos Costa and Francisco Clavet.

As usual, Sampras remains an enigma on clay. Is his injury serious ? Has he worked hard enough on clay to be able to snatch at last the only Grand Slam title still eluding him ? By winning the Italian Open in 1995, the American proved he was capable of adapting his game to clay.

And he usually had his best results in Paris with very little preparation on the surface such as last year when he reached the semifinals, losing only to Kafelnikov.

The Russian is another player with more questions than answers ahead of the French Open. After losing to Berasategui in Rome, he said it ``would take a miracle'' for him to retain his crown.

Parisian crowds will hope that such uncertainty may favour one of their compatriots.

Cedric Pioline, winner in Prague earlier this month, and Fabrice Santoro, who has had his best results in years in Monte Carlo and Prague, will be the local favourite.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.