Roland Garros 2009 - French Open Tennis Tournament

The women's singles' competition will undoubtedly be a very heated one. With so many good players, it's almost impossible to guess who is going to win the trophy in Paris this year. The 2008 winner, Ana Ivanovic is still going strong and will definitely have her big part to play this year too. But let's look at the favorites this year.


1. Dinara Safina
The current number 1 ranked player in WTA, the 22 years old player has to be one of the favorites. The younger sister of Marat Safin, a former number 1 ATP player, played the French Open's 2008 final, but was beaten in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, by Ana Ivanovic. She will be looking to consolidate her WTA ranking.


2. Serena Williams
The second ranked player, Serena Williams needs no introduction. Since she was just beaten to the top of the rankings by Dinara, Serena Williams will surely seek to reclaim that top spot. She won the French Open back in 2002, but the 27 year old still has a lot more to say in the game.


3. Elena Dementieva
The 27 year old Russian is the 2008 Olympic champion. Her best performance at the French Open dates back from 2004 when she reached the final, when she was beaten by her fellow Russian Anastasia Myskina in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. She is currently ranked 3rd in the WTA ranking. Will she be able to challenge the title this year?


4. Jelena Jankovic
The first player from Serbia from our list, Jelena Jankovic, is currently ranked 4th in the WTA rankings. She will be looking to reclaim that top spot which she lost to Serena Williams on February 2nd, after having held to it for 17 consecutive weeks. She never reached a final at Roland Garros, only the semifinals, and it seems that clay isn't her strong point. Will she be able to do better this year?


5. Venus Williams
The older sister of Serena Williams, just like Serena, needs absolutely no introduction. Her best performance at the French Open dates back from 2002, when she was the runner up, as she was beaten by her sister Serena 7-5, 6-3. She is currently ranked 5th.


6. Vera Zvonareva
It seems that Russia, USA and Serbia are all the rage in women's competition nowadays. This 3rd Russian from the top 6 doesn't have many famous wins to her name, but still manages to rank 6th in the WTA rankings. She will be one of the outsiders at this edition of the French Open, but she is really capable of deciding who becomes the champion.


7. Ana Ivanovic
Finally, last but definitely not least, we couldn't leave Ana Ivanovic out, the winner of last year's edition. The beautiful Serbian will be looking to keep the precious title in her possession and prove that she is not out of form. The reigning champion was also the runner up in the 2007 edition, so we can safely say that she is very comfortable in Paris. She is my personal favorite.

We have nothing more to do than wait for the women's competition to begin. I personally am very curious how things will develop, and what amazing twists we will witness at this years' Roland Garros.

Pictures are courtesy of http://www.coretennis.net