World No.21 Ana Ivanovic won the French Open title only three years ago and reached the top of the WTA rankings then, but the Serb has been struggling to find that very game ever since, and except a few flashes of form and good results, the overall cloud surrounding her has been pretty gray. Today she lost in the first round of the French Open to world No.64 Johanna Larsson of Sweden 7-6(3) 0-6 6-2 (last year she lost in the second round, and the year before in the fourth).

After wasting four set points in the first set and losing that set in a tiebreak, Ivanovic won seven games in a row to find herself with a 1-0 lead in the decider, but then her world crumbled.

"I wish I knew (what went wrong since 2008). I try to look back and see what I've done then and to do the same things. I'm just trying to work it out," Ivanovic said.

I'd like to mention that a lot of people in our poll actually voted for Ivanovic to go all the way to the title – she either has a lot of people who believe in her, or a very strong fan base who is there no matter what. In today's tennis everything is possible, and Ivanovic winning the French Open would not be that much of a surprise under the current circumstances, it's just that she has uncontrollable ups and downs.

Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters are safely through to the second round. Sharapova, who came to Paris on the wings of her Rome title, defeated Mirjana Lucic 6-3 6-0 without facing a break point. Clijsters proved her form after a two-month long absence with a 6-2 6-3 win over Anastasiya Yakimova in the first round of the French Open.

Victoria Azarenka and Li Na also won their openers. Virginie Razzano, who was playing in tribute of her late fiance Stephane Vidal, lost in the first round to Jarmila Gajdosova 6-3 6-1. Razzano will play doubles with Alize Cornet. (photo: sr_cranks)

This year is the 100th anniversary of the Fila sportswear brand and to celebrate it the originally Italian producer whose headquarters are now in Seoul is launching a collection inspired by the outfit Kim Clijsters received for Christmas when she was a child, in the mid 80s.

For the 2011 French Open, Fila dug into their achieves, searching for the outfit based on the description Clijsters provided. When they found it, they started working on it, updating the color palette and adorning it with a signature print design from the Belgian's childhood kit. Read more »

Roland Garros 2011 has been awaited as a big occasion for world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki to win her maiden Grand Slam, or as a venue where Kim Clijsters will reassert the dominance of the "old generation", or maybe as an unexpected place for Maria Sharapova to remind us what she's made of. Let's not forget defending champion Francesca Schiavone and an always-lurking possibility of an emergence of a lesser known player or new player in the limelight such as Petra Kvitova and Julia Goerges.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki will play Kimiko Date Krumm in the first round, and then has possible matches against Daniela Hantuchova and the 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. In the quarterfinals the Dane could face last year's runner-up Samantha Stosur. But let's not overlook that world No.18 Julia Goerges, who largely owes her fame to the two recent victories over Wozniacki, is in the same quarter of the draw.

Third seed Vera Zvonareva is in the second quarter, as well as defending champion Francesca Schiavone, who failed to impress in the clay lead-up to the French Open but this week in Brussels she reached the semifinals where she lost to Wozniacki. The Italian's first opponent will be Melanie Oudin. Jelena Jankovic, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Flavia Pennetta, Alisa Kleybanova and Nadia Petrova are also in this quarter. Read more »

The pain from the ankle injury is still present, but Kim Clijsters' determination is overpowering it, and the Belgian has confirmed her participation at the 2011 French Open.

The advantage is that I still have the spirit of the past Grand Slam tournaments. If I play well, I can win. Attitude is very important, even though the situation is physically very different.

The second-ranked Clijsters sustained the injury at her cousin's wedding in April and hasn't played competitive tennis since. She resumed training earlier this month and the French Open will be her first event after the injury. However, we shouldn't worry for Clijsters, she's a master of comebacks.

Everything is going well. I am hitting the ball well. I still feel a little bit of pain in the ankle, but I have a tight bandage on it and that helps me.

In 2001 and 2003 Clijsters played the final of Roland Garros. The first one she lost to Jennifer Capriati and the second to Justine Henin. (source: CNN, photo: sr_cranks)

The Premier-level tournament in Rome is warming up, with the strong field of seven of the Top 10 players present, including world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, but let’s remind ourselves of the dormant long-time champions Serena and Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters. What are they doing?

Serena Williams has slipped from No.10 to No.17 in the rankings released today and there is still no word on when she will come back from her two foot surgeries and the blood clot in her lungs. Serena's fall in the rankings is actually historical for American tennis history, as this week is the first week ever that the United States have no representative in the Top 10 in either WTA or ATP lists.

Soon it will be a year that Serena has been away from tennis courts. However, the younger Williams sister is far from bored. Recently she even had a stalker drama in her life. Read more »