French Open 2013: Expert picks for the women's draw
The tennis experts of Sportskeeda look ahead at the 2013 French Open by making picks for the women in 4 categories: dark horse, early exit, dangerous floater, and champion.
1. Dark horse
Haresh Ramchandani: Italy seems to have made a habit of producing late bloomers who make a breakthrough at Roland Garros. In 2010, 30-year-old Francesca Schiavone won the title as world no. 17, and then went on to reach the finals again in 2011. Last year, 25-year-old Sara Errani won 3 low-key WTA events on clay and marched into the Paris finals. In 2013, 30-year-old Roberta Vinci, who is the No. 1 doubles player with Errani, could be a good bet if Italy is to yield a finalist for the fourth year running. Vinci has a WTA title on clay this year (in Katowice) and has wins over Petra Kvitova (twice), Samantha Stosur and Angelique Kerber this year. The Italian plays creative tennis – drop shots, volleys et all – and while she may not go all the way and win the title, Vinci is my dark horse pick for this year’s championships.
Roh: Li Na. The former French Open winner is very well capable of pulling a surprise or two out of her hat, and is as good a bet as any to capitalize in the event that any of the top four fail to win the title.
SivaramL: With 6 different women’s singles champions in the last 6 years and none of them being Serena Williams, I have to say chances of a dark horse surfacing aren’t that bleak. I would give Li Na the tag even though her form hasn’t been all that great lately. The reasons – she did well to reach a Slam final again this year in Melbourne and she has ‘been there, done that’ at Roland Garros.
Jason Xie: Sara Errani is the 2012 French Open runner-up. She has shown great consistency by reaching the semi-finals at Madrid and Rome. As a clay-court specialist, she has the potential to repeat her 2012 performance in Paris.
Sudeshna Banerjee: When Li Na is in the zone, she is one of the most fearsome opponents in the world, proof of which was given by her pummelling of Maria Sharapova in the 2013 Australian Open semi-finals. The sixth-ranked Chinese knows how to play on clay, has the Stuttgart final to her name this season and has the prestigious Roland Garros title in her bag – enough reasons to never count her out.
Musab Abid: Ana Ivanovic may still suffer from the occasional errant service toss, but lately she has shown a few feeble signs of rediscovering her championship-winning 2008 form. She still can’t be trusted to keep her game (and head) together against higher-ranked players, but if her draw opens up a little, as draws tend to do at Roland Garros, she has a chance to sneak into the semis (or beyond).
2. Early exit
Haresh Ramchandani: Once again, a bunch of options here. World No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska won only one match during the Rome-Madrid double; former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki comes into Paris on a 5-match losing streak; and Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli is only 11-11 for the season. Bartoli would be a good pick but an early loss for her is hardly headline-grabbing. Hence, Wozniacki gets my vote. The Dane is quickly sliding into the dangerous Jankovic-Ivanovic territory which the Serbs have found difficult to move out of.
Roh: Samantha Stosur. Other names do pop up in one’s mind, but the former US Open champion hasn’t really done much on the dirt lately and, in my opinion, is primed to make an early exit.
SivaramL: There are candidates aplenty to choose from for this category – Wozniacki, Kvitova, Stosur (who is in the midst of a comeback) – but where’s the thrill in guessing the expected? I see No. 4 Agnieska Radwanska, who is usually consistent against players ranked below here, being upset by some lesser-known face in one of the earlier rounds.
Jason Xie: Li Na has been far from prolific in the past two months. She lost to Madison Keys in the first round of Madrid and Jelena Jankovic in the third round at Rome. She produced 62 unforced error in her match against Jankovic, which brings her consistency into question.
Sudeshna Banerjee: Former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki is experiencing one of the worst slumps of her career since reaching the Indian Wells final back in March. The tenth seed has struggled mightily against lower-ranked opponents this season and hasn’t been able to record even a single victory on red clay. Wozniacki looks every bit the seed most vulnerable to crashing out early.
Musab Abid: Caroline Wozniacki, while a boring pick, is also a pick that is almost beyond reproach. The Dane has never enjoyed playing on clay, and her recent results on the dirt have been rather miserable, to put it mildly.
3. Dangerous floater
Haresh Ramchandani: Yet another category with myriad options. Veterans like Svetlana Kuznetsova, Francesca Schiavone and Daniela Hantuchova will all be unseeded, as will a dozen or so teenagers including Laura Rosbon, Madison Keys, Donna Vekic and Annika Beck. But my pick is the 28-year-old American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The American has jumped more than 100 spots in the rankings this year to no. 66 after an injury-plagued 2012 season. Mattek-Sands reached the finals in Kuala Lampur this year and made the semis in Stuttgart on clay as a qualifier. Best known for her fashion statements, Mattek-Sands seems ready to make one on the court this time.
Roh: Lots of names come to mind in this category too, but it is Laura Robson on whom my gaze narrows substantially.
SivaramL: With due respect to the WTA, anyone outside the top 20 is a definite dangerous floater given the consistency of many women in the top 20. If I were to name a few, the Brit Laura Robson could cause an upset or two but I see the strong serving American teenager Madison Keys, who upset Li Na in Madrid, as the most dangerous of the many floaters.
Jason Xie: Laura Robson reached the 2012 Guangzhou Open final, and upset Petra Kvitova in Melbourne to add to her upsets over Lia Na and Kim Clijsters at last year’s US Open. Although she has yet to establish match-to-match consistency, her powerful game can pose problems for any player.
Sudeshna Banerjee: With illustrious scalps at the Grand Slams such as Kim Clijsters, Li Na and Petra Kvitova, the 19-year-old Laura Robson, with her fluent strokes, looks set to continue with her string of upsets. She has already given a hint of how good she can be on clay with easy dispatches of Venus Williams and Agnieszka Radwanska and those triumphs would definitely have acted as massive confidence boosters for her.
Musab Abid: While it may be to too early to call Madison Keys the future of American tennis, she has shown enough of her big game already to make the top players take notice. It’s unlikely that she will make a deep run at a Slam this early in her career, but an upset or two are not inconceivable.
4. Champion
Haresh Ramchandani: A lot of people are wondering on who the bigger favourite is this year – Rafael Nadal for the men’s title or Serena Williams for the women’s. But I’m going out on a limb and predicting that the women’s champion will be someone OTHER than Serena. Such has been the domination of the 31-year-old that I feel she is due for a loss. And it’s likely to come in Paris where she has not reached the semifinals since 2003. Serena won 17 matches in a row heading into Paris last year and then lost in the first round in Paris. She also won 17 matches in a row again heading into Melbourne but failed to come out with the silverware. Her win at Wimbledon last year came on the back of her loss in Paris and her US Open title came on the back of a loss in Cincinnati. Serena comes into Paris this year riding a 24-match win streak and the law of averages will catch up with her – giving an opportunity to Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka or Sara Errani to step in. There are many other jokers in this WTA pack and one of them could win the title too.
Roh: Serena Williams. No questions need to be asked why.
SivaramL: Serena Williams, period. She is as consistent on the WTA tour, surface notwithstanding, as Rafael Nadal is on clay! The bagels and breadsticks she ruthlessly inflicts on her nearest competitors and the thirst she must have for a Roland Garros title after 11 years give her a firm place as the favourite for the title.
Jason Xie: Serena Williams is definitely the most dominant contender on the WTA tour. She has established her superiority in the clay season, winning the titles at Madrid and Rome by demolishing Sharapova and Azarenka respectively. Her records are solid proof that without any injuries, she is destined to have a deep run or take home the trophy.
Sudeshna Banerjee: Serena Williams lost just 14 games en route to taking the Rome title, and before that she also reigned supreme in Madrid and Charleston on clay. She is undoubtedly in sizzling form and looks highly motivated to clinch her second title in Paris. Perhaps her unwavering determination stems from the fact that she wants to bury the painful memories of her 2012 French Open first round defeat.
Musab Abid: It’s fun to be the contrarian and pick someone other than the obvious favourite, but Serena Williams‘s recent results are impossible to argue with. She has annihilated her lower-ranked opponents and literally embarrassed her high-ranked opponents – and she has barely broken a sweat through all of it. Add to that her desire to erase the memory of her first-round exit here last year, and it seems tempting to write her name on the trophy already.