Half of the women’s first round matches are finished, and players seeded number 31 and 11 are sent home.

On Monday, France’s Severine Bremond, seeded 31, was beaten 6-3 6-3 by Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands (sister of Richard, the 1996 Wimbledon Champion). When her first serve was in, she won 78% of the points, while her seeded opponent won only 48%.

At her home Grand Slam, Bremond has made it past the first round only once, in 2005. This year, the 28-year-old has played six clay tournaments, but reached the second round only twice.

The second seed to fall was Nadia Petrova. Last year, she had a great clay season, but also lost in the first round of the French Open. The Russian, seeded 11, suffered a 5-7 7-5 0-6 lost to Czech qualifier Kveta Peschke.

Petrova, who pulled out of the Italian Open with a back problem, struggled with her movement and had treatment at the start of the second set.

The 24-year-old will have an MRI scan and fears she could miss Wimbledon. Petrova, a two-time semi-finalist at Roland Garros, missed Wimbledon last year because of a hip injury.

"I am trying to stay positive in my head, but I really don't know if I will be okay," she said.

"I just really hope that in the end it's not that serious. I don't want to miss the grasscourt season again." (source: BBC Sport)

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)

World No.5 has a lot of achievements to be proud of – two Grand Slam titles, 25 WTA Tour events, a Fed Cup, and four years in the top five. Still, at her home Grand Slam, she has reached only two quarterfinals — in 2003 and 2004. For many players, that would be a great success, but Mauresmo can't really be satisfied.

It seems that she has some kind of mental block at her home tournament. Amelie admitted that stress played a role in her poor results, especially when she lost to world No.54 Jana Kandarr of Germany in the first round of the 2001 French Open. After this defeat, Amelie won as much as four consecutive tournaments!

Last year, after losing to Vaidisova, the French No. 1 said: "I think people should start looking for me at other tournaments."

We should never write Amelie off, but even her biggest fans are not so sure she can win. However, this year she has much less pressure on her shoulders, since the French fans have gradually stopped believing she can win the claycourt Grand Slam. "Maybe she can relax a little bit and play her best tennis," analyst Mary Joe Fernandez said. (via: Roland Garros, ESPN)

Tatiana Golovin, ranked 17th in the world, had to withdraw from her home Grand Slam tournament which starts on Sunday. The French No. 2 hasn't recovered from a right-foot injury she received during Fed Cup played last month. She will be replaced in the main draw by a lucky loser. (via: Tennis Magazine)

World No. 6 Martina Hingis has also withdrawn earlier this month due to back and hip injuries.

The top-ranked player in the world announced on her website that she is physically fit and ready for Roland Garros which starts on Sunday. She has no more injuries. Respiratory problems she had in Miami are now over. "In Berlin you seen that in spite of the scheduled matches, despite the fact that I played more than seven hours and four matches in two days I still held my fitness level," Justine said.

While the Belgian was elaborate when talking about her physical health, she hasn't commented much on the other contenders in Paris. She said that she has great respect for all the WTA players – all the way from the first round opponents. Still, she pointed out the two players that have been very successful lately — world No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, who won the tournament in Rome on Sunday, and world No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was a runner-up four times this year. However, Henin added that other players can be a challenge as well. (source: Justine Henin's site)

Martina Hingis withdrew from the French Open, the only Grand Slam she hasn't won in her career. After losing to compatriot Patty Schnyder in Berlin, Martina admitted having back and hip injuries.

World No. 6 pulled out of the Italian Open, hoping she would recover till Roland Garros. However, the Swiss stated that she won't play in Paris unless she's 100% ready.

It seems she didn't manage to recover that quickly.

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)

Maria and Martina have both suffered injuries and they are considering whether or not to compete in Roland Garros which starts on 27 May.

The Russian hasn't played since March when she lost to Serena Williams in Miami. Her right shoulder injury made her pull out of next week's Italian Open, and she's still considering whether to play in France. "I just want my fans to know that I am doing everything possible to be ready to play at the French Open," she said.

The Swiss player has back and hip injuries and has also pulled out of Rome. She may recover till Roland Garros, but she won't play unless she's 100% ready. "I don't know if it's going to get better that quickly. I'll see how far I get in the next two weeks," she said. (Source: BBC Sport)

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)