Justine Henin BEL (1) vs. Serena Williams USA (8)

According to many people, these two players are most likely to win the 2007 French Open. Henin already possesses three titles from Paris (winning it in 2003, 2005, and 2006), while her opponent in the final 16 has one, from 2002.

In their flourishing careers, they’ve met nine times, and Serena leads 6-3. But maybe it’s more important to point out that the one more successful on clay was Justine. She defeated the American three times (in the finals of Berlin and Charleston, and in the semifinal of Roland Garros). Serena beat Henin on clay only once, in the final of Rome.

Jelena Jankovic SRB (4) vs. Nicole Vaidisova CZE (6)

Vaidisova leads 1-0 on clay. She defeated Jankovic in 2006, in the semifinal of Strasbourg. If we include their matches on other surfaces too, Vaidisova is also better, leading 4-2. However, we mustn’t forget Jelena’s fantastic results this season. In 2007 she’s already won three trophies: in Auckland, Charleston, and Rome.

Ana Ivanovic SRB (7) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (3)

Considering the matches they've played so far, Ana has better results, leading 2-1. On clay they played once, and Ana defeated Kuznetsova. That was in the last month’s final of Berlin.

Anna Chakvetadze RUS (9) vs. Maria Sharapova (2)

In this case, situation is clear – they played against each other three times and Chakvetadze has never beat Sharapova. Out of these three matches, they had only one on clay; in the last 32 of the 2005 Roland Garros when Sharapova defeated the compatriot in straight sets.

Certain things Maria and Serena said during the French Open were chosen by BBC as quotes of the day. I find them interesting, so I’ll share them with you.

Maria wasn’t competing for quite some time because of hamstring and shoulder injuries, so she had a chance to discover the joys of ordinary life. Here’s what Maria has learnt during her spare time: "I got to go to the grocery store and I had to cook my own breakfast and my lunch. The first time I went to the store, I was absolutely lost. Now I've got it under control. I know where the vegetables are, where my favorite cheese is, I've got it all going." What an experience she had!

And here’s how the world number 2 and second seed at Roland Garros commented her clay-court form: "I feel terrible. I feel like a cow on ice." Hahaha, illustrative comparison!

As for Serena, she was happy to hear that she was an idol to her next opponent Michaella Krajicek, and said: "That's awesome. That's so sweet. I know the feeling because I loved Monica Seles, so whenever I got a chance to play her, I was just still really excited. It's just kind of strange to be in the opposite position."

After being told the Australian Open plans to put new surface Serena commented: "To be honest with you, I grew up in the hood, and any court is a good court to me." Cool statement.

Serena also explained how she picks her hitting partners: "If you can beat me, you can hit with me." It makes sense, but for sure eliminates a lot of players.

On the rainy first day of the French Open, four players advanced to the second round: the defending champion and three-time Roland Garros winner Justine Henin, the 2002 French Open winner Serena Williams, Dinara Safina of Russia, and Tamira Paszek of Austria.

Serena Williams, who has never lost in the first round of a Grand Slam, struggled through the opening set, but eventually dominated Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. Serena was broken four times in the first set, and again in the opening game of the second. But then, she found her rhythm and everything went smoothly towards the end. The eight-time Grand Slam winner could thank the rainy weather which disrupted the match at the moment Pironkova lead 6-5. The break seemed to have helped the eighth seed to collect herself and win the match.

Top-seeded Justine Henin also advanced to the second round by beating Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-4, 6-3. Her opponent in the second round will be Austria's Tamira Paszek who beat Aiko Nakamura of Japan 6-4, 6-0.

Dinara Safina, No. 10 seed, defeated Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4. (source: ESPN)

The players that pose the biggest threat to the 2003, 2005, and 2006 French Open winner, Justine Henin, are Serena Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The American, who won Roland Garros in 2002, hasn't played much, but if she is fit and healthy, she can achieve everything. Serena has proved many times that she is a true champion. By winning this year's Australian Open, when only few people believed in her, she showed that we can still expect some great results from her. What we can say without a doubt is that Serena is entering the French Open with confidence.

The other candidate to make problems to Henin is Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova. She defeated Henin in Berlin last week on clay. If she keeps her mental strength, world No. 3 can beat any player. She is fit, strong and moves well.

However, there are very few players that can challenge the Belgian in Paris. Amelie Mauresmo is struggling after a two-month break caused by her appendix operation, Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis have both sustained injuries and are still not sure if they will play, Kim Clijsters has retired, while Venus Williams doesn't have much of a chance. (via ESPN)

Internazionali BNL d'Italia is the most prestigious clay-court tournament after Roland Garros. It is a Tier I event with the prize money of $1,340,000.

Amelie Mauresmo of France is seeded at the top. She is the 2004 and 2005 winner, and in 2000, 2001 and 2003 she was in the final. Although world No. 4 has only recently returned to tennis, after a break caused by her appendix operation, she is still one of the favorites to take the trophy.

Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova hasn't had a very satisfying year — she was a runner-up three times (in Doha, Indian Wells, and last week in Berlin). Still, without doubt, she has a potential to make Rome her first title of 2007.

World No. 5 Jelena Jankovic is definitely in good form. The Serbian has already collected two titles in 2007– Auckland and Charleston. We can expect a lot from her.

Although Serena Williams hasn't played since the Fed Cup first round in April, the 2002 champion, this year seeded 8th, is certainly someone we can't discount. She has been superb this season winning the Australian Open and Sony Ericsson Open. What more can you ask for?

Nadia Petrova of Russia is seeded fifth. She won three consecutive titles on clay last year. Her compatriot Dinara Safina, seeded sixth, reached the final on clay in Charleston, as well as last year in Rome when she was defeated by Martina Hingis.

Other players making up the top 8 seeds are Nicole Vaidisova and Anna Chakvetadze. We expect some good action from them as well.

We should also mention No. 12th seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia who won a tournament in Berlin a few days ago and entered the top 10 for the first time in her career. In Rome's quarterfinals we might have a chance to watch a re-run of Berlin's final with Kuznetsova.

Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis won't play this year because of injuries, while world No.1 Justine Henin didn't enter. (via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

How often do injured players retire when closer to victory, and how often when they are losing? Which players are more likely to retire, and which stay in match even though they are losing?

Tennis Magazine, who did this research, took into account the top 20 players and calculated the proportion of times they retired when close to losing a match. The aim of their work was to determine which players retire when they see that defeat is near, which, as they believe, tells a lot about a person's attitude. So, matches where a player retired before the completion of the opening set, as well as those when a player withdrew while less than two games behind, were not included.

Some players are more prone to injuries, but you can see that some of them withdraw when they see that they can't win. It's evident that player's retirement affects the opponent as well as spectators. The opponent can't enjoy the victory as much, because things were left unfinished.

One of favorite WTA players, Kim Clijsters, had lots of injuries in her career, but retired while losing only once. Ana Ivanovic, Shahar Peer, Nicole Vaidisova and Martina Hingis have never left the match when behind.

On the other hand, an unbelieveable 11.4 % of Jelena Jankovic's defeats are retirements while losing, which is more than one in every nine losses. Players following Jankovic are Serena Williams and Anna Chakvetadze.

A spokesperson for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, who saw the results of the research, said: "There is no evidence that WTA Tour players do anything other than compete their very best." However, John Lloyd, British Davis Cup captain and former Australian Open finalist, claims that "really good champions don't feel they're going to lose until the last point, so they never throw in the towel."

I don't really agree with the view that players who are prone to retiring while losing are players with worse attitude and not real champions. It shows a certain part of their character, but it doesn't make them worse people, or worse players. They are simply like that (it's normal to lose interest when you see you have no chance to win), and after all, it's not forbidden to withdraw while behind.

(more at Tennis Magazine website)

Serena Williams ended 2006 ranked 95th, now she's world No.12. And not only that, she already has two important titles in 2007 – the Australian Open and the Sony Ericsson Open. However, Serena's ambitions don't end there; "I have something in mind, but I'm not going to say. It has something to do with clay… I'm really looking forward to Roland Garros. It's going to be fun," she told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

Serena won the French Open title in 2002, which was the first one of her four consecutive Grand Slam titles, a phenomenon known as Serena Slam. If she pulls off the French Open victory this year, she'll be halfway to achieving a True Grand Slam (winning all four Grand Slams in the same calendar year). "I think it can be done. I play well on all surfaces so I'm a good candidate to do it. Who knows?" said Serena.

After all, not many players can win a match after losing an opening set 6-0, as Serena was losing to Justine Henin, and eventually won the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open. Serena surely has abundance of mental strength, which is what makes a difference between an excellent and exceptionally excellent player. (source: Sports Illustrated)

Serena Williams of USA had to pull out of her Fed Cup match against Belgian Kirsten Flipkens because of minor inflammation in her right knee.

Serena's injury appeared after her Saturday's match against Caroline Maes, and her captain decided to replace her as a precaution.

Williams' team said that this injury is not related to her groin injury which, two weeks ago, forced her to leave the tournament in Charleston.

However, Serena's young replacement, Vania King added another point to the U.S. by defeating the Belgian player in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. This victory puts the U.S. into the Fed Cup semifinals where they will face Russia. (sources: Tennis Magazine, Fed Cup official website)