(Pic: Grandslamgal)
The French Open is upon us once again, as the most prestigious clay court tournament in world tennis and the second of four annual Grand Slam tournaments commences on Sunday. Over the years Roland Garros has given us some amazing matches, incredible upsets and dramatic conclusions, we can expect more of the same after witnessing this year’s exciting editions of the Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome Masters tournaments, all of which are clay court tournaments.
ATP
The Men’s section of the tournament was hit with big news as
one of the title favourites and 3rd ranked player in the world Roger
Federer pulled out of the tournament after declaring himself unfit to
participate, the Swiss is not the only big name that will be absent from the
tournament as local favourite and 14th ranked player Gael Monfils
also withdrew from the spectacle with a viral infection.
The undeniable favourite to win this year’s tournament is
none other than the brilliant Serbian Novak Djokovic. The world number one has
been in sensational form this season having already bagged the Australian Open Grand
Slam title in January as well as three ATP Masters series titles. Although
Novak Djokovic is the favourite to win the French Open, it is the only Grand
Slam he is yet to conquer, having suffered heartbreak in the final on three occasions
(2012, 2014 and 2015). Another big name we cannot look past is ‘the king of clay’ Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard
attained the aforementioned title by winning the French Open a record nine
times. Nadal is one of the main reasons Novak Djokovic is yet to win the French
Open having defeated the Serbian in the final on two occasions, we can expect Nadal
to stake his claim for the title this year.
Fedex pulls out of the RG (Pic: The Guardian)
Andy Murray has also shown
impressive performances on clay this season, winning the Rome Masters series
title by defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. The second-seeded Scot boasts
of an 85 % match-winning percentage on what is traditionally considered his
least favoured surface this season, a confident and consistent performance could
see Murray win the only Grand Slam in which he has not progressed beyond the
semi-finals. The defending champion and Swiss 4th ranked player
Stanislas Wawrinka is also one of the main contenders for the title this year,
Wawrinka will hope to defend his title to win his 3rd career Grand
Slam adding to his 2014 Australian Open victory.
Tournament dark horse Kei Nishikori would definitely be one
to monitor during this French Open tournament. The Japanese 6th
ranked player has been on the rise recently and some excellent performances
against the top seeded players could see Nishikori win the tournament. Croatian
teenager Borna Coric is one to look out for also, the 19 year old impressed
many by reaching the 3rd round of last year’s French Open, not bad
for the then 18 year old, under the right guidance Coric could become the next
best thing in tennis.
WTA
The women’s section will see 21-time Grand Slam winner
Serena Williams attempt to defend her French Open title, a feat which hasn’t been
achieved by a woman since 2007, but the top seeded favourite will face stiff
opposition from the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska, Garbine Muguruza , Simona
Halep, Petra Kvitova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The competition is sure to be fierce as the contestants will
attempt to usurp Serena’s dominance of the female tennis scene; the last person
to succeed in that quest was German 3rd ranked player Angelique
Kerber, who stunned Serena at the Australian Open final, Kerber will be tipped
to go far if not all the way even though her best showing in the French Open
was her Quarter-final appearance in 2012. Spanish 4th ranked player
Garbine Muguruza is also likely to mount a serious challenge for the title and improve
on her quarter-final appearances in 2014 and 2015. Belarus star Victoria
Azarenka is also one to watch out for as she has already claimed the Miami and
Indian Wells Masters series tournaments earlier this season, but a first match
defeat at WTA Rome and a last-16 loss to Louisa Chirico in Madrid might suggest
that her recent form and fitness are failing her. Romanian 6th seed
Simona Halep who won the Mutua Madrid Masters seems to favour the clay surface,
as her best performance in a Grand Slam tournament was in the 2014 French Open
where she was runner-up to Maria Sharapova , Halep will be aiming to go one better
than her 2014 performance as she prepares for Roland Garros. 2015 finalist and tournament’s
11th seeded Lucie Safarova will also be in the mix and will be
desperate to get her hands on the trophy after last year’s heartbreak.
Can Serena defend her title? (Pic: Rolling Stone)
A great two weeks await us as we shall witness the
brilliance, the upsets, the nerve wracking rallies and the great comebacks as
the contestants compete for the ultimate prize in clay court tennis.
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