Roland Garross Preview

Last year, the players who dominated the clay season were the one making it to the final : Safina and Kutnetsova, with the latest winning the title. This year, no one really dominated this preparation to RG and it is hard to say who is going to hold the trophy at the end of the tournament. But it isn’t going to be Kuznetsova, or Safina.

The first thing we notice on the draw is that Justine Henin wasn’t granted of any favor and is seeded as her rank allows : 22. She is standing in the first half of the draw with a possible meeting with Maria Sharapova in third round. But even that, shouldn’t be a problem. Stosur is also standing there, but their first and only encounter earlier this month shows that Justine was still superior mentally speaking. So, i guess the first quart will oppose Justine to Serena Williams who might have a tough match against Peer, but still, she should dispose of anyone standing her way till Justine. And even then, hard to saw which one will make it through.

And the second part of the top draw, Jelena Jankovic might have some problems in earlier rounds with possible meeting with players that already beaten her in the past : Kanepi, then Bonderenko and Hantuchova. And she is passes that, is hard to say who she is going to meet in quart because Safina is a possibility but she had been playing so miserably since she returned that i doubt that even a mentually disturb Zvonarava shouldn’t get rid of her, unless that fact that she finally fired that ungrateful coach shows instant result. There is also Ivanovic on that part but is what we saw in the latest tournaments is going to be enough? Radwanska didn’t really shows consistency on clay so, who is going to be? Hard to say: the huge Russian, Kleybanova ?

The second part of the draw holds the defending champion. Sveta had a very unconvincing clay season but with her, we never know. Her draw doesn’t look too bad, but what a draw means anyway? If she is playing at the best of her talent, she could even make it to the semi since Wozniacki, still injured, should not last that long and Pennetta is still in a mid-struggle crisis. Can she find her game on time for the tournament?

And the last part of the draw, I see an immediate clash as I am almost certain that Dulko is going to win over Azarenka: the Belarus is playing injured for a way too long and Dulko is on a good mood. Will it be her or Dementieva in Quart? Hard to say. The Russian is having any kind of problem losing match she should win lately but i gave her the benefit of the doubt, because she the higher seeded in that part. At the bottom of the draw there is Venus Williams: I say for many years that clay isn’t Venus Williams’s surface and even thought she seems to be playing good this season on it and might have her best run for years, she is not going to win this.