This weekend represents the start of this year’s second
grand slam of the tennis season, as the great names of the modern game make
their way to Roland Garros. This tournament signals the start of a busy summer
for tennis, with two majors in the space of a month and a half. Whilst English
fans often simply see Roland Garros as a pre-cursor to the ‘greatest major’ in
Wimbledon, we must not forget that the Parisian competition offers the same
amount of world ranking points. It is therefore only home bias, and to a certain
extent, a feeling of inevitability over the winner of the men’s tournament,
that forces that viewpoint.
In terms of British interest, we
were dealt a serious, and potentially fatal, blow when British number 1 and
world number 2 Andy Murray announced he would be withdrawing from the French
Open, having suffered a recurrence of the back injury that had plagued him for
the last couple of years. British fans will be looking anxiously at his progress,
hoping that he will be fit to compete on the grass at Wimbledon. This leaves us
mostly looking at the women’s draw for British hopes, with both Heather Watson
and Laura Robson having significant successes in recent tournaments. Whilst
winning the tournament outright may be too much to ask for these young
prodigies, getting to the second week will certainly be the primary aim.
The winner of the men’s
tournament has been practically pre-determined for the last 8 years, with clay specialist
Rafael Nadal winning the tournament a record 7 out of the last 8 contests, and
is the winner of the last 3. The Spaniard, ranked world number 4, will
undoubtedly start this tournament as favourite, especially with Murray’s
withdrawal. However, he has not had the most consistent season, suffering from
injury, and we have also seen him exit big tournaments in shocks in the past. A
five set defeat in that classic match against Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon last
year gives us some element of doubt about simply handing him the trophy now.
The other prospective winners are
fairly obvious. Roger Federer will once again be there or there about come the
end of the tournament. The Swiss master has a never-say-die attitude that has
allowed him to adapt his game to best suit his advancing age. You can never
write off a man that has reached the final of every Grand Slam at least 5
times. Novak Djokovic is the other obvious choice for winner, but the Serbian
has often found Roland Garros a tough nut to crack. It is the only Grand Slam
he requires to complete his Career Grand Slam, and as a result will undoubtedly
be driven, especially after his final defeat to Nadal last year. However, that
final appearance was his first in Paris, and he does not have a particularly good
record in the French capital. Outside of the top two, David Ferrer has always
been considered to be good on clay, as Andy Murray has experienced to his cost
in the past. Although the Spaniard has never reached a final at Roland Garros, a
couple of fortunate results is all it would take to see the world number 5 to
his inaugural Grand Slam final. Similarly, French hopes will largely be pinned
on the likeable Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, whose signature victory dance has endeared
many of the fans to him. He has extinguished Roger Federer’s hopes on numerous
occasions, making his case to be a viable contender for this title. The home
fans will also be pushing the world number 8 on, which has an inevitable
positive effect on the performance of the home players. No-one outside these
players has a predictable chance of winning the French Open, but as we have
seen, anything can happen over the next two weeks.
As far as the women’s tournament
goes, the winner is slightly less predictable. Though Serena Williams has been
made strong favourite for the title, there is less of a one-person domination
than in the men’s game. Also, the fact that Serena herself was shocked with a
round 1 defeat at Roland Garros last year means that she is not infallible at
the Parisian tournament. A 54 minute 6-0, 6-1 victory in the first round this
year, however, suggests she is back to her very best form. Last year’s winner,
Maria Sharapova, should also be considered to be in with a chance of winning
it. Though her recent form has not been fantastic, she often produces her best
on the big occasions, and therefore cannot be written off. Other prospective
winners include: the noisy Victoria Azarenka, winner of two Australian Open
titles, Agnieska Radwanska, winner of last year’s Wimbledon, clay specialist Li
Na, 2011 French Open champion and the feisty Aussie Samantha Stosur, amongst
others. The women’s game is far more open than the men’s and promises to be a
very entertaining contest.
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