Article by Glyn James

The French Open is Here!

   Over the following two weeks, Jelena will play in her first Grand Slam of the year in Roland Garros.  One of the biggest events of the year is about to start.  Could this be Jelena's first Grand Slam victory?  Could this prove to be the bridge between the top ten and the top 5?  Over the next two weeks, we should see an indication as to how Jelena performs amongst the greatest players in the world.


No matter where in the world you are, you should be able to catch some coverage of the tournament. For Europe, Eurosport appears to be the main station covering most of the event, though there are several local networks also covering some matches. Down under in Australia, FOX sports and TV5 show coverage; in the states, you can catch the action by tuning into NBC and ESPN 1&2, and if you're out in Africa, the SUPERSPORT channels seem to be airing a lot of coverage. If you are unsure about what channels in your area are covering the event, check out http://www.frenchopen.org/en/about/television.html and simply click on your region.


   Jelena is no stranger to the red clay.  This season, she's played at four tournaments on this surface - The Betty Barclay Cup, The EUROCARD ladies' Open, The Italian Open and last week in the Internationaux de Strasbourg.  Even though Jelena's start to the season has been plagued by injuries, her form on the red clay has been pretty good when she stays fit.  The injuries haven't shown themselves for some time now, and hopefully they are all very much in the past, just in time for Roland Garros.


   Jelena's previous visit to Roland Garros have been somewhat disappointing in the singles, and certainly don't reflect Jelena's ability on the clay.  Since her first visit in 1999, Jelena has only managed a 1st round, a 2nd round and a 3rd round, however, she proved that she could play there last year by reaching the final of the doubles event.  This year, Jelena will certainly hope to get past the first week in the singles event, and seeded at number 7, there shouldn't be any tricky hurdles in the draw.


   Here's how the Roland Garros draw looks -

1-Jennifer Capriati (U.S.A) v Marissa Irvin (U.S.A)
Amy Frazier (U.S.A) v Meilen Tu (U.S.A)
Angelique Widjaja (Indonesia) v Jill Craybas (U.S.A)
Evie Dominikovic (Australia) v 28-Alexandra Stevenson (U.S.A)
20-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) v Qualifier
Tathiana Garbin (Italy) v Silvija Talaja (Croatia)
Anna Kournikova (Russia) v Christina Wheeler (Australia)
Eva Dyrberg (Denmark) v 14-Iroda Tulyaganova (Uzbekistan)

12-Meghannn Shaughnessy (U.S.A) v Qualifier
Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) v Gala Leon Garcia (Spain)
Emilie Loit (France) v Alicia Molik (Australia)
Qualifier v 19-Anastasia Myskina (Russia)
30-Amanda Coetzer (South Africa) v Martina Mueller (Germany)
Fabiola Zuluaga (Colombia) v Elena Likhovtseva (Russia)
Conchita Martinez (Spain) v Maria Elena Camerin (Italy)
Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Switzerland) v 7-Jelena Dokic (Yugoslavia)


3-Serena Williams (U.S.A) v Martina Sucha (Slovakia)
Miriam Oremans (Netherlands) v Qualifier
Janette Husarova (Slovakia) v Alexandra Fusai (France)
Marion Bartoli (France) v 26-Ai Sugiyama (Japan)
21-Anna Smashnova (Israel) v Francesca Schiavone (Italy)
Qualifier v Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian (Switzerland)
Maja Matevzic (Slovenia) v Qualifier
Marta Marrero (Spain) v 15-Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (Spain)

9-Silvia Farina Elia (Italy) v Elena Bovina (Russia)
Tina Pisnik (Slovenia) v Kveta Hrdlickova (Czech Republic)
Laurence Andretto (France) v Jana Kandarr (Germany)
Denisa Chladkova (Czech Republic) v 17-Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand)
32-Cristina Torrens Valero (Spain) v Magdalena Grzybowska (Poland)
Mary Pierce (France) v Irina Selyutina (Kazakhstan)
Henrieta Nagyova (Slovakia) v Virginie Razzano (France)
Qualifier v 5-Justine Henin (Belgium)


8-Sandrine Testud (France) v Paola Suarez (Argentina)
Qualifier v Barbara Schwartz (Austria)
Jennifer Hopkins (U.S.A) v Qualifier
Qualifier v 27-Nathalie Dechy (France)
24-Lisa Raymond (U.S.A) v Eva Bes (Spain)
Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spain) v Stephanie Foretz (France)
Nicole Pratt (Australia) v Magui Serna (Spain)
Camille Pin (France) v 10-Amelie Mauresmo (France)

13-Elena Dementieva (Russia) v Adriana Gersi (Czech Republic)
Selima Sfar (Tunisia) v Asa Svensson (Sweden)
Rossana Neffa-De Los Rios (Paraguay) v Greta Arn (Germany)
Anne-Gaelle Sidot (France) v 22-Magdalena Maleeva (Bulgaria)
25-Daja Bedanova (Czech Republic) v Jelena Kostanic (Croatia)
Qualifier v Clarisa Fernandez (Argentina)
Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) v Celine Beigbeder (France)
Tatiana Poutchek (Belarus) v 4-Kim Clijsters (Belgium)


6-Monica Seles (U.SA.) v Angeles Montolio (Spain)
Barbara Rittner (Germany) v Petra Mandula (Hungary)
Lilia Osterloh (U.S.A) v Ludmila Cervanova (Slovakia)
Kristina Brandi (U.S.A) v 29-Iva Majoli (Croatia)
18-Tatiana Panova (Russia) v Seda Noorlander (Netherlands)
Qualifier v Stephanie Cohen Aloro (France)
Jana Nejedly (Canada) v Adriana Serra Zanetti (Italy)
Cara Black (Zimbabwe) v 11-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia)

16-Barbara Schett (Austria) v Marlene Weingartner (Germany)
Cho Yoon-jeong (South Korea) v Chanda Rubin (U.S.A)
Samantha Reeves (U.S.) v Zsofia Gubacsi (Hungary)
Janet Lee (Taiwan) v 23-Anne Kremer (Luxembourg)
31-Rita Grande (Italy) v Mariana Diaz-Oliva (Argentina)
Saori Obata (Japan) v Alina Jidkova (Russia)
Wynne Prakusya (Indonesia) v Anca Barna (Germany)
Bianka Lamade (Germany) v 2-Venus Williams (U.S.A)


   The draw is obviously not an easy one, though Jelena would certainly expect to reach the quarters.  The first round against Gagliardi shouldn't prove to be difficult, and a likely second round match would put Jelena up against former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez (a player in which Jelena has a great record against this season).  Should Jelena come through the first two rounds, she should play Amanda Coetzer or Elena Likhovtseva, again, matches that you'd expect Jelena to win if she's to make an impact this year.  By the time of the fourth round, Jelena's likely opponents would be Anastasia Myskina or Meghannn Shaughnessy, however, I'm sure many Aussies would love to see their number Alicia Molik coming up against their former number one player, however Molik is more of a grass player than a clay court player, and seems to rely on her big serve to win her points.  Myskina would certainly be the toughest opponent of the lot, though Shaughnessy has the higher rank.  Jelena has beaten Shaughnessy a few times already this season (the latest time being last week at Strasbourg).  Myskina beat Jelena on the red clay a few weeks back in Rome, to prematurely end Jelena's hopes of her first title defence, and so you'd think that Myskina has the psychological edge at this point.  Jelena though, as we know, has a strong mental personality, and I'm sure she's taking things one match by a time, and trying not to get ahead of herself.  She won't really be too bothered who she plays, as she knows that if she's going to make this her year, then at some point, she's going to have to play against players who have a better record than her.


   One of these players is Jennifer Capriati, world number one, defending champion, unbeaten in Grand Slams this year, and a more than likely Quarter Final opponent for Jelena should Jelena reach that stage.  Jelena will certainly have to come up with something big if she's to get past this massive obstacle that stands between her and her second appearence in a Grand Slam semi final.  But Jelena relshes a challenge, and you just know that she will give it 110%.  Should Jelena achieve what most people would consider impossible and reach the semi finals, she would then face the mighty task of defeating two Williams sisters in consecutive matches.  You have to ask, would Richard Williams and Damir Dokic still get on like they used to if our girl Jelena proved to be the downfall of the Williams sisters?  It's an understatement to say that it's a long shot, but we can all dream, and give our utter support to Jelena.  She's going to need all the support that she can get if anything big is to happen here.  So come on, shout at your TVs like crazed idiots!!

PREDICTION - Capriati def. Dokic in three sets in the quarters.

Below are a few facts about the French Open:

Amongst the men Henri Cochet has the most semi-final appearances to his name (7). Chris Evert leads the way for the women (an astonishing 12 semi-finals in 13 appearances).

Each year since 1980 the tournament logo has been designed by a world-famous artist.

Approximately 360 umpires take to the chair each year throughout the tournament. Around ten of them are full-time circuit professionals.

The Centre Court, which seats15,059, was renamed the Philippe-Chatrier court in 2001, in memory of the former president of the French Tennis Federation.

In all there were 613 matches played at the 2001 tournament.

The Trophy of Legends was founded in 1998. It brings together twenty or so of the greatest champions of the last century.

In 1966, Istvan Gulyas of Hungary consented to the final being postponed for 24 hours to allow his opponent, the Australian Tony Roche, to receive treatment on an ankle injury. Roche recovered and won the title!

Björn Borg remains the all-time record holder with 6 men's singles titles to his name: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981.

There will be 32 seeds instead of 16 in both the women's and men's singles in 2002, for the first time ever.

The stadium can accommodate around 37,000 spectators per day.

Out of all players who have played at Roland Garros, Jelena is the best looking by far! :-)

COME ON JELENA!