Open Gaz de France, Paris.

Defend defend defend:

This week, Jelena travels to Paris for the Open Gaz de France, and, as you may have guessed from the mini heading, this week is all about points defence.  This is Jelena's only serious points defence in the first quarter of the year.  In order to maintain her current total of ranking points, she will need to reach the final ... a virtually impossible task nowadays with Serena Williams in your half of the draw.

As for the tournament details.  The tournament is a Tier II, and so has $585,000 of total prize money.  It will be played in the Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Paris, on the greenset indoor surface and the tournament is directed by Regis Brunet. (Rbrunet@imgworld.com)  Refreshingly, the tournament doesn't appear to be completely covered in sponsorships.  It's main sponsor, the Gaz de France, also has commitments in Judo and Athletics.  Other sports brands which are advertised throughout the tournament include Puma and Dunlop.  That's all the boring bits out of the way, so let's take a look at what the tournament means from Jelena's perspective.

Jelena and the Open Gaz de France:

As mentioned earlier, Jelena reached the final of this event last year before withdrawing due to injury prior to her prospective showdown with Venus Williams.  It was the start of a frustrating time with several niggling injuries hampering Jelena's progress.  The saga was finally brought to an end when Mike Nishiahara was appointed as a fitness coach and revealed that the problem was in Jelena's lack of compulsory stretches.  A complacent injury which surely won't re-occur under the guidance of Heinz Gunthardt.  The press over there are hardly savage, and although the website still seems to be focusing it's energy in writing about Jelena's reasons for missing the Australian Open, she shouldn't have any real problems on that front, especially since Amelie Mauresmo's comeback will be hogging tha majority of the lime light.  This tournament last year seemed to work wonders for getting Jelena's confidence back on track following her disappointment in Japan a week prior, so let's hope that this thunder strikes twice.

The Draw:

The top four seeds, in order, are Serena Williams, Daniela Hantuchova, Amelie Mauresmo and finally our very own Jelena.  With the way the draws are made, it guarantees that Jelena will have to play Serena Williams in the semi finals, should they both come through the earlier stages.  Hardly the news you want to hear when you need to defend a final appearance.  However, with a great chance to catch up on some points in the coming weeks, a semi final this week would still be a decent achievement for Jelena right now, and would do her confidence the world of good.  Here's how the draw looks:

After a first round bye, Jelena's likely 2rd opponent is Emilie Loit.  Sound familiar?  The Frenchwoman was extremely close to upsetting Serena Williams in the first round of the Australian Open, and with home advantage, she could well prove to be a stumbling block for Jelena.  Should Jelena surpass this stage, a meeting with the hot & cold Alexandra Stevenson awaits Jelena in the quarter finals.  Then comes the unenviable task of taking on Serena Williams.  Should Jelena somehow manage to scrape through that lot, a potential final meeting with either Hantuchova or Mauresmo lies ahead.

Conclusion:

This week is certainly not going to be a stroll in the park for Jelena.  Even with her number four seeding, she still faces a difficult early stage of the tournament.  If Jelena goes out there with a positive and confident frame of mind then, as we all know, she has the ability to reach the semi finals stages at least.  She bounced back last year following her misery in Japan to reach the final, defeating Dementieva and Seles in the process, so let's keep a little optimism.

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Prediction:

1rd BYE.

2rd Jelena def. Loit in straights.

QF Jelena def. Stevenson in straights.

SF Serena def. Jelena in three.

F Serena def. Hantuchova in straights.