French Open Betting / Guy McCrea / 18 April 2010 /

With the first quarter of the WTA season behind us, the world's best women are now fine-tuning their clay court skills ahead of next month's French Open. Guy McCrea selects three stories to follow in the build-up to Roland Garros ...

Justine's comeback

Try as she might, Justine Henin hasn't been able to emulate the fairytale return that her fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters made to women's tennis. Obviously, being ranked at 23 in the WTA list from only four events isn't a disgrace. Henin reached the Australian Open final and has also beaten a clutch of big names so far in 2010 - including Elena Dementieva twice and Caroline Wozniacki. But she still hasn't won a WTA title since her return. Contrast that with Clijsters, who won the US Open last September in what was just her third event back on tour. She has also won Brisbane and Miami this season - beating Henin en route to both titles.

As such, Henin will relish a return to her favoured clay. There is still no one more comfortable on the dirt. But what game strategy will the four-time French Open champion bring to the surface in the coming weeks?

Henin has made no secret of the fact that the main aim of her comeback is to capture that elusive Wimbledon title, and the Belgian's game has resembled something of a work in progress on the hard courts so far. She has certainly attacked the net more than before, but hasn't looked entirely comfortable doing it - her long-time coach Carlos Rodriguez has admitted as much. Will Henin bring that aggressive intent to the clay, or fall back on more of the methods that served her so well during her first career?

Pressure Points

Henin isn't the only one who has a lot riding on a successful clay court campaign. Without question, both Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina were the dominant players during last year's swing. The rest could barely get a look in. Kuznetsova beat her fellow Russian to win the big one at Roland Garros, while the pair split the prestigious WTA Premier level stops at Stuttgart and Rome between them. On top of that, Safina also snared Madrid.

As a result, how both handle the pressure of defending all those ranking points in the next few weeks is of crucial importance. Safina currently has 6150 points which puts her at number three in the rankings. But 2630 of these points come from last year's European clay-court season. It is a similar scenario for Kuznetsova. The world number five holds 5620 points, of which 3025 were scored this time last year. If both women fail to defend any of these, they would crash out of the world's top 16.

Of course, neither is likely to come away with absolutely nothing from the clay. But the pressure is still great and neither has enjoyed much success so far in 2010. Safina reached the quarter-finals in Sydney and the fourth round at the Australian Open but was troubled by a back injury and has yet to play since because of that lumbar problem. Kuznetsova cut a disinterested figure on court during March at the big events in Indian Wells and Miami. Remarkably, she hasn't reached a quarter-final yet this season.

Serena ...

It is amazing to think that the WTA Tour has had to do without its top ranked player for the best part of three months now. The American still hasn't hit a ball competitively since winning her fifth Australian Open title in January because of a left knee injury.

She has now accepted a wildcard entry for the Italian Open in a few weeks time - but who knows whether her knee will actually allow her to take to the court in Rome? It stopped her from competing in Miami recently - and everyone knows how much Serena values what she calls her 'home' event. Even if she does play in Rome, there will have to be some doubt over her physical condition after such a long period out of action. As such, it will be interesting to see how Serena shows up in that event, especially as preparation for the French Open.

Serena's level of motivation on what is her least favoured surface is also an issue. The 12 time Grand Slam singles champion's triumph at the 2002 French Open is her only singles title to date at Roland Garros. Serena's determination to succeed on-court is unquestioned and without parallel, especially at the major tournaments. But can the American add another quality - patience - to her repertoire of skills? She will need that in abundance on the slow European red clay, where long rallies are the norm. Perhaps in Rome, definitely in Paris - we will find out.

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