As the French Open Tennis Championships roll on, the fields have been whittled down and we are now on the verge of the second week, when the minnows have mostly been eliminated and only the major contenders remain.
That said, the womens' tournament has been exceptional this year as both of the top 2 seeds have been beaten already. Kim Clijsters, the number 2, collapsed completely against a young Dutch girl, but has the excuse that she's played very little in recent weeks due to injury. The current world number 1, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, on the other hand, has no such excuses for her thumping by Daniela Hantuchova, having played regularly for months. Wozniacki must count as one of the poorest players ever to reach the top spot, never having won a grand slam tournament and only having reached one such final, that of the 2009 US Open when she was beaten by Clijsters who'd only just returned from 2 years away from the sport. Wozniacki is a generally solid though entirely unspectacular player who seems to rely more on her opponents' mistakes than on her own abilities and would surely never have reached the lofty heights of World number 1 if the Williams sisters or Clijsters had been fit and playing regularly. The womens' event has also lost last year's runner-up, Sam Stosur, beaten by the unseeded Gisela Dulko, and who's going to win the title is now anyone's guess. Defending champion, Francesca Schiavone, seems to be in great form, and the assortment of Russians and other eastern Europeans, Zvonareva, Sharapova, Kuznetsova, Kirilenko et al., will undoubtedly have a say. The smart money may well be on Schaivone to repeat last year's triumph.
The men's event has been in almost total contrast to the womens' with the top 5 seeds all safely through to the 4th round and no one really looking beyond these 5 for a potential champion. Nadal has gained form and confidence as the matches have progressed, and Federer has looked to be much more of his old self and has regained some of his former imperious style. The man of the moment, Djokovic, looked to be suffering a slight drop in form against Del Potro, but he regained his composure to continue his quest for another title and the world number 1 ranking. Andy Murray has also been looking good, but gave his supporters a few anxious moments in his 3rd round match when he seemed to have suffered a serious ankle injury; fortunately, he was able to continue and saw off his opponent quite easily, and we can only wait to see if he will be able to continue his campaign in the 4th round tomorrow. Fifth seed, Robin Soderling, has reached the final at each of the last 2 French Opens, so can't be ignored, however, he doesn't seem to be in quite the same class as the top 4 in the draw. Djokovic is probably the favourite notwithstanding Nadal's dominance here over the years. but there's little to choose between them and Federer so far; I don't see Murray really threatening though he should reach the semi-final, injury permitting. For me, Federer is the dark horse and I'd have a crafty bet on him.
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