Tennis News

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, two players better known for their hardcourt and grasscourt abilities, are the form players going into the climax of the claycourt season at the French Open.

Between them they won the four main leadup events on the surface at Charleston and Madrid for the American and at Stuttgart and Rome for the Russian.

The question is whether one of them can sustain their form through two weeks and seven matches in the often unpredictable playing conditions that are a mark at the famed Roland Garros complex on the western edge of Paris.

Rafael Nadal could become the first man to win seven Roland Garros titles, but Novak Djokovic and a rejuvenated Roger Federer are braced to slam the door shut on the Spaniard's history-making campaign.

Ever since the early, members-only French championships were thrown open to foreign players in 1925, no man has won the title more than six times, a feat Nadal shares with Bjorn Borg after his 2011 victory.

Widely-regarded as the most gruelling of the four majors, only one woman, Chris Evert, has achieved the magic seven.

World number 13 Gael Monfils has pulled out of the French Open because of a right knee injury, the French tennis federation said.

The injury-prone Frenchman, who lost to Roger Federer in the quarter-finals at the claycourt grand slam event last year, will be out of action for three weeks.

Monfils has been struggling with his form in recent weeks and suffered a shock defeat to unheralded American Brian Baker in the second round at Nice on Wednesday.

The French Open starts at Roland Garros on Sunday.

French wildcard Alizé Cornet caused the latest upset at the Internationaux de Strasbourg on Thursday by knocking out three-time champion and No.4 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues. In a match of fine margins, it was Cornet that held her nerve when it mattered most, winning 76(2) 76(5) to reach her first WTA semifinal for nearly two years.

"It was a very difficult match and I'm so happy I could beat Anabel today because she's such a great player on clay," Cornet said. "But I just fought as hard as I could on every point.

Swedish No.1 Sofia Arvidsson reached the seventh and biggest WTA semifinal of her career on Thursday, toughing out a tight 75 64 victory over one half of the Radwanska sister act - the other half fared better. Facing Urszula Radwanska, a qualifier in the draw and conqueror of No.2 seed Marion Bartoli the day before, Arvidsson bounced back from a 3-0, double-break deficit in the first set and eventually toughed out the one-hour, 42-minute win, serving strong and dictating play with her powerful groundstrokes.

Former World No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko broke a two-match losing streak against top-seeded American John Isner with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win in one hour and 42 minutes Thursday at the Open de Nice Côte d'Azur. Davydenko will square off against American comeback kid Brian Baker for a place in the final, after the qualifier wiped away a match point to edge Mikhail Kukushkin 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4).

Will Novak Djokovic succeed where Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all fell just short? The World No. 1 goes into Roland Garros aiming to become the first man to hold all four major titles since the great Rod Laver in 1969.

While Novak Djokovic managed to get his hands on the trophy at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in early 2010, the quality of his tennis at times left a lot to be desired. His serving in particular was woeful; the Serb delivered 10 double faults in the semi-finals and 12 more in the final before eventually prevailing.

Rafael Nadal's form during this clay-court season has been absolutely frightening, and I cannot see anyone beating him at Roland Garros.

The world number two overcame a valiant resistance from Spanish compatriot David Ferrer to prevail at ATP Barcelona, and he has since claimed a staggering 49th career title.

Wasn't the younger generation supposed to be taking over?

Two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt, who is battling back from foot surgery, was on Wednesday handed a wildcard into the main draw of this month's French Open.

The 31-year-old, who reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in January, has made a speedier recovery than expected from the operation in February and has been training well on clay.

His reward is one of Tennis Australia's two wildcards to Roland Garros, with 16-year-old Ashleigh Barty, the 2011 Wimbledon junior champion, getting the other.