'08 Roland Garros women's picks

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA
Anne Marie Stark
Cynthia Lum/WireImage.comThe top three with a chance at the Roland
Garros crown are Serena Williams, Ana
Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. Justine Henin left her sport last week and a chance at tying a storied mark in Roland Garros history: France's Suzanne Lenglen's record four straight titles between 1920-23. She also left the Roland Garros field as wide open as it was in 2000 after Steffi Graf had retired and before the Williams sisters had begun to dominate. Here are the contenders, spoilers, and non-contenders.

Top contenders
SERENA WILLIAMS: Sure, she was stunned by Dinara Safina in Berlin, but before that the US' top woman had put together a 17-match winning streak, including a green clay-crown in Charleston. The '02 champ has played as much as she's had in six years and is reaping the benefits. At crunch time, if she's clocking her groundies, it's tough to pick against her, especially considering that amongst her main rivals, only Henin was a clay-court dominator.

ANA IVANOVIC: So much talent yet so inconsistent. The Serbian has a clay-court upbringing, but speed and defense are not her forte, two very necessary elements on dirt. If she displays a little more patience and is fortunate enough to get a dose of hot and dry weather, this '07 finalist is a true contender. Her losses at Berlin and Rome were disturbing, but if she loses her head like she did at the Aussie Open, she'll be the bridesmaid once again.

JELENA JANKOVIC: Has any player complained more about a general lack of energy this year? The Serb is a terrific mover with a super-steady game that translates well onto clay, but her late fades at the Slams have been frightening. Prop her for winning Rome (over Alize Cornet and with a pullout from Maria Sharapova!) but don't take her for her word that she's ready to Slam until she actually reaches a final. But no doubt, this French Open is a unique opportunity for her, as she's one of the few tired and true clay-court players.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Here today, gone tomorrow. Kuznetsova grew up on clay, has Spanish coaches and the forehand to do major damage on dirt, but she's not trustworthy in Slam finals anymore. Plus, she's been only marginally impressive this year.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Of course she's not a clay-courter, but she reached the semis last year without her vaunted serve and, when healthy this year, she's looked all the part of a No. 1, winning her first clay-crown at Amelia Island. If she can avoid marathon matches early (a real problem as of late), a run to the final isn't impossible. Neither is a title if she goes up against someone substantially mentally weaker than she is (aka JJ).

DINARA SAFINA: A totally unexpected title run in Berlin, not because she's without talent, but because she upset Henin, Serena and Elena Dementieva en route to her first Tier I title. Although she doesn't have the mental makeup to win a Slam, a run to the semis or final is not a completely nutty thought. Just ask brother Marat, the king of crazy quotes.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Forgotten by many, the tireless Russian speedster and '04 finalist still believes she can win a Slam and reach No. 1. While the top ranking appears out of the question, she did reach the Berlin final and has been raising her level with each passing week. When she's locked into her relentless baseline game, no one wants a piece of her. But, can her zany serve hold up under pressure?

ANNA CHAKVETADZE: Of course she's been down in the dumps since her December mugging and has lost almost all of her confidence, but she's had a few decent wins lately and has the smarts and variety to do major damage on dirt.

VENUS WILLIAMS: She hasn't played much since Miami, but if this '02 finalist can get a couple of wins under her belt, she'll scare anyone. What she needs to do is to decide to stay more in her Wimby-winning defensive mode until she gets the right ball to strike, rather than her more current sloppy RG offensive mode, where she goes for broke too much.

Spoilers
Count the revived Russian, Vera Zvonareva, and the lefty Swiss, Patty Schnyder, if she can get over another marathon loss to Sharapova. Add in terrorizing teens: Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, Hungarian Agnes Szavay, Pole Agnieszka Radwanska and France's Alize Cornet look like real comers. Anyone for US teen Madison Brengle? She lacks pop, but not heart.

Probably first-week casualties
Most of France, including the now injured Marion Bartoli, as well as the fading Amelie Mauresmo and Virginie Razzano. Slovak Daniela Hantuchova won't recover quickly enough from an injury and Nicole Vaidisova awaits the same fate. Israeli Shahar Peer has hit the skids, and although some of the world would love to see Aussie Jelena Dokic qualify and American Ashley Harkleroad recover quickly after surgery, I'm not sensing it.

© TennisReporters.net 2008