Right so the first day of the French open is already over however I thought I would do this post before its too late and here is my pick of contenders for the title at Roland Garros.
Serena Williams
Right at the top of the list is of course Serena Williams who is the defending champion from last year and this year she could well be on course to repeat her incredible victory, which saw her win every grand slam more than once, as it was her second French open title. So can Serena win again this year??? Well its a bit of a no brainer, absolutely, however it will depend purely on how well she plays and the only player that can really beat her is herself. So far Serena has avoided the first round jitters as she successfully defeat her opponent Alize Lim in 6-2, 6-1. From here however it doesn't get much easier and Serena could very well go on to face Maria Sharapova in the quarter finals, so Serena's draw will be far from serene (crap I know!) which could well be followed by Agnieszka Radwanska in the semis and a potential final with Li Na, the former champion. But Serena is still leagues ahead of the rest of the competition given her powerful and accurate serve and powerplay game, if she is at her best over the fortnight, she will be virtually impossible to stop. So I think its a safe bet that Serena will at least reach the final, unless an upset is likely on the cards. Prediction: champion, finalist or semi finals.
Li Na
Li Na has to be the next favourite as she is the current World No.2 and also a former champion at RG as she won her first grand slam title in Paris, so Li promises to do very well again this year. Li Na also won her second grand slam this year in Melbourne so by doing that she proved that she is no one trick pony and there is a fair chance she can go on to win another at the French open. However Li Na's downfall can be here inconsistency on serve and while she has a big game and can threaten the very best players, she can also threaten to come off the rails as well and she may well find it tough to negotiate her way past the likes of Serena Williams. However next to Serena I can't really see anyone else stopping Li Na from reaching the final or beating her in it, apart from maybe Sharapova, so I think there is a fair chance that Li can battle her way into the final, she might not win it, but she is a safe bet to be in the last two. Prediction: finalist or champion.
Maria Sharapova
Next is Maria Sharapova, now given that Serena Williams could be a potential quarter final opponent and that Maria has struggled to find a solution to beat the American for years, her draw could very well open up if Serena is upset before they are due to meet in the last eight. And Serena and Li Na aside there really aren't any other players that can live with Sharapova in the draw, also her clay court game has improved considerably over the last few years as well, as she is a former champion in Paris as well. This year Maria has also won in Stuttgart (as pictured holding the trophy) and Madrid on clay so her clay court season so far has been excellent and to win a second RG title would cap it off perfectly. However it remains to be seen how Maria will get on in Paris and she too can have her lapses of concentration with her high risk game coming undone at times, given her erratic serve and unforced error count which can really pile up. But she is also one of the great warriors in the game and she is tough as nails and I think given a good draw and Serena out of the equation, Maria has a good chance of claiming another title in Paris. Prediction: quarter finals, finalist or champion.
Sara Errani
Next we have Sara Errani, the pint sized Italian No.1, who was a former finalist at the French two years ago. Errani's best overall surface is clay and it is a surface she is very comfortable on and last year she also made the last four at RG before she was crushed by Serena Williams. The trouble for Errani is that she could potentially face Serena in the final again as they are in opposite sides of the draw and if she does well it could very well be one-way traffic for the American. But Errani on the plus side has great variety in her game, great net skills (as she is the world's best doubles player along with her partner Roberta Vinci) and she has the footspeed to trouble many a player and give them a real headache. So I can see Errani do very well again at the French and I definitely can see her reach the last four or maybe even the final, will she win it? Doubtful as she would really need a very kind draw to do so, but she will go deep. Prediction: semi finals.
Simona Halep
Simon has to be my next choice as she is by far and a way the most improved player over the last year or so in the ladies game as her rise in 2013 was meteoric, which saw her win a remarkable six titles in one year and on all three surfaces. Halep is now sitting at a career high ranking of No.4 in the world and she looks set to put in a very good run at Roland Garros and I'm sure she can go pretty deep here. Halep also is quite an aggressive player and her footspeed and agility to reach any ball as well as to hit winners from anywhere on the court will make her a real threat to the other players out there. However I'm not quite certain if Halep will win the title, she certainly has the talent and skill to do so and is full of confidence this year, but she still has to contend against the big hitters such as Li Na and Serena Williams and both of them will be pretty big obstacles for the 5ft 6inch Romanian. Nonetheless Halep still has all the ability to go real deep in Paris I definitely think she has a good shot at reaching the last four. Prediction: semi finals.
Agnieszka Radwanska
After Simona we have Agnieszka Radwanska who it has to be said is one of my favourite players on the ladies tour, as her game is a real breath of fresh air and is built on guile, ingenuity and constructing the points rather than relying on brute force, Radwanska uses her wits to outfox her opponents. Radwanska however has said that clay is her least favourite surface but despite that she still managed to make the quarter finals last year before falling to Sara Errani in a very entertaining straight set encounter. So I think Aga (her nickname) has a good chance to do well her again this year and make it to the 2nd week and maybe the last eight anyway. However I don't know if Radwanska can go any further and while her results have been certainly consistent this year she has failed to reach many finals of the WTA events, with the exception of Indian Wells where she played with an injury and lost to Flavia Pennetta. But if Aga can reach the final it would be great to see her there and it would be really refreshing to see a crafty counterpuncher win a slam for a change rather than a big hitter who bludgeons the balll from the baseline as Radwanska offers so much more than that. But I have to say that Radwanska might get as far as the semis but with a possible meeting with Serena there, I can't see her get further unless her draws opens up then who knows. Prediction: quarter or semi finals.
Jelena Jankovic
Up next is Jelena Jankovic who has made a real resurgance in the last year
or so as she was a former World No.1 and at the top of the game for years,
however in recent times she fell back down again and lost her confidence.
That is until last year when Jankovic started to find her form again and she
put together some impressive and fairly consistent results and she even reached
the quarter finals at the French last year as well as well as the semi finals
of the WTA championships. Jankovic however quite often has also struggled
with consistency and her game is also prone to errors, which may cost her from
getting to the final and making the big step to lift the title. But on
the other hand Jankovic is a natural clay court player and she is also one of
the great defensive players and movers on the tour and given that she is now
firmly back in the Top 10, ranked as No.6 in the world, I'm sure Jelena can put
together a decent run in Paris, but she might find it hard to get past the
final eight. Prediction: quarter finals.
Ana Ivanovic
Then we have Ana Ivanovic, a former French Open champion back in 2008,
however Ivanovic for years was in a wilderness as she struggled for ages to get
anywhere near a final again in a slam, although in the last year or so she has
made up for that, reaching the last 16 out in three of the four slams in 2013,
which isn't too bad and this year she already has reached the quarters in
Melbourne. Ivanovic also is knocking on the door of the top 10 again as
she is currently ranked No.12 in the world and she already won two titles this
year in Monterrey and Auckland and reached the final of Stuttgart where she
narrowly lost to Sharapova. So Ana's form coming into the French is
excellent and I also think she can do pretty well here, given that she has
quite a big serve and a really potent forehand, she can do some damage in
Paris. Ivanovic however still has her struggles against the players right
at the top such as Sharapova and Serena, although this year she has actually
managed to beat Serena in the Australian open 4th round so she might stand a
chance to cause some upsets here as well again and she just might go on a
killer run and lift a second French open title. However I don't quite
think Ivanovic will get there as she could face the in form Simona Halep in the
quarters and maybe Li Na in the semis before a final showdown with Serena, but
anything is possible, so I predict Ana will have a good year at RG.
Prediction: quarters or semi finals.
Angelique Kerber
And last but far form least is Angelique Kerber, the German No.1 who
announced herself on the tour during the US open of 2011 and she went on to
break into the top 10 in 2012 and has remained there since. Kerber
however hasn't quite put together the stellar results since her efforts in 2012
as last year she managed to reach the 4th round of three out of the four slams
which is not bad, and also this year in Melbourne as well, but she will need to
do a bit better to go further this year. But I still think that Angelique
could do potentially well in Paris as she has already reached the quarter
finals here in 2012 and she might be set to do the same again this year.
Kerber is also an excellent athlete as she has really good movement and can
cover the court very well and is also quite an aggressive counterpuncher, which
goes well in her favour against the big hitters. However she does lack
the mental edge needed to make the final leap and that is where she has come up
short in the past so I don't see her with a real chance to win the title.
But I still think that Angie can make the second week in Paris and at the very
least will be in the last 16 and possibly the final 8. Prediction: 4th
round or quarter finals.
Right so that was a bit later than expected to post up but its done now and
with day 2 coming up of the French we will see how my predictions pan out and I
will report back with the results as the tournament carries on.
So until the next one bye the now.
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