Tests of will, courage, and determination are the make-up of what is considered “The Toughest Slam”, Roland Garros. Through the years, it has been clearly evident that the most talented don’t always win on clay, that’s for Wimbledon, but the fittest player would pull through.

Time and again, talented giants have fallen by the wayside to players who can outmanoeuvre and out rally them. This year is no different from the others except for the fact that the dominant clay court player, world No.1 Justine Henin, has officially retired from tennis and erasing any thoughts or questions of a comeback by asking to be removed from the rankings. So, without the three-time defending champion playing the French Open, who can capture the title?

Things have been looking pretty awesome for Serena Williams since her shock defeat by Jelena Jankovic in the quarters of the Aussie Open; she’s been on quite a roll. Serena has racked up titles in Bangalore, Miami, and Charleston, two of which are Tier 1 tournaments.

'Things have been looking pretty awesome for Serena since her shock defeat by Jankovic in the quarters of the Aussie Open'


She has also had a semi-final showing in Berlin, losing to Dinara Safina, and a quarter-final showing in Rome, which she withdrew from citing a back spasm. Serena has won this major before, beating Venus in the final, so she knows what it takes to win on the dirt, but does Serena have the fitness and the consistency to prevail as she did in 2002?

Jelena Jankovic is an all-surface player who is particularly tough on clay. Jankovic plays exceptional defence, scrambling to keep the point alive, and has great court sense when challenged. Jankovic is by far the best clay court player since the retirement of Henin, so without Henin one has got to like the chances of the sure-footed Serb.

Jankovic was last year's semi-finalist losing to none other than Henin, so even Jankovic has to fancy her chances against the other top players who aren’t as formidable on clay as they would be on other surfaces.

Big sister Venus has had success at the French Open, but has never tasted glory, losing in the aforementioned 2002 final to Serena. 2008 has been a trying year for the former world No. 1. She started off the year in good form winning the exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, beating Maria Sharapova along the way. Then, Venus made it back to the quarters of the Aussie Open for the first time since losing in the finals to Serena in 2003; Venus lost to the eventual finalist Ana Ivanovic.

After that, Venus has simply fallen out of orbit; she’s had losses in early rounds and has only made it further than the quarters once. Venus took an indefinite leave from tennis during the European clay court swing, but returned to play Rome; she had a good showing, losing in the quarters to the eventual champion Jankovic. Will Venus’ vulnerability in the early rounds prove vital once again, or will she continue to contend at other majors besides Wimbledon?

Ana Ivanovic has had a stellar clay court resume; she won Berlin and made it to the finals of the French, both in 2007, but her Roland Garros preparation has been lack-lustre to say the least. She lost to Elena Dementieva in the semis while defending her Berlin title, then had an absolutely shocking loss to Svetana Pironkova who’s only top ten victory was over Venus in the 2005 Aussie Open first round. Can Ivanovic handle the pressure of being the No.2 ranked player in the world, or will her disturbing form as of late continue?

New world No. 1 by default, Maria Sharapova, is looking to complete the career Grand Slam, something Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, and Martina Hingis were never able to do (Hingis and Davenport missing the French, alla Sharapova and Seles missing Wimbledon).

Last year, Sharapova struggled with a nagging shoulder injury, but with the injury she still managed to reach the finals of the Aussie Open and the semis of the French Open; she’s done one better in Australia, capturing the title this year, so she’s feeling pretty jolly about her chances this year. No, Sharapova isn’t a dirt baller, but she’s your typical 21st century aggressive player clocking winners from anymore at anytime.

Sharapova’s movement is suspect not just on clay but on every surface, so her being one of the slowest players wouldn’t bother her because she’s used to it, her opponents better watch out because Sharapova’s technique is absolutely sound and if she gets her racquet on the ball….she’s “going for it!” Will Sharapova’s lack of movement continue to hinder her on the clay, or will she triumph at Roland Garros and complete the career Slam?

Elena Dementieva has been playing the kind of tennis that led her to two Grand Slam finals, both in 2004 at the French and the US Open. As of late, her clay court campaign has been consistent. She made it to the finals of Berlin taking out defending champ Ivanovic along the way, and she’s in the finals defending her Istanbul title. The question isn’t how well Dementieva is playing, but how will her serve hold against the terrifying returns of the top women?

There’s also several "noise makers" scattered throughout the draw. Amelie Mauresmo hasn’t been playing the kind of tennis that won her two majors, but she knows what it takes to win and she’ll have all of Paris rooting for her to win.

Resurgent Russian Vera Zvonareva has been finding the form that took her in the top ten and although she isn’t in the top ten, whoever has to play her needs to be on their toes because she’s been playing some confident tennis.

Dinara Safina in finally coming into herself winning her first Tier 1 title in Berlin, but she withdrew from Rome. Can she keep her recent success going? And crafty left-handed Swiss Patty Schnyder will also be looming in someone’s section, and on clay she can outmanoeuvre anybody.

This French Open is completely wide OPEN, especially with the retirement of Henin. But one has to put the money on Serena Williams or Jankovic to win this championship.. But you can’t count out big sister Venus; she’s vulnerable in the early rounds, but once she gets some matches under her belt and gets her teeth into the tournament whoever's in her path better take notice and be on guard.

Those are my top three contenders, with Sharapova looming as the outside chance; she’ll need everything to fall into place for her to win. Whatever the outcome, we're in for two great weeks.