Stan Wawrinka, the defending champion, will also be in action. “So it’s not like I was playing every week”.
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It was the 21-time grand slam champion rather than the rookie who appeared cowed by the occasion, leaving Kerber to lift her first slam title at the age of 28.
Roger Federer never did it. Neither did Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras or Bjorn Borg. Williams fell (in shocking fashion) to Roberta Vinci in the semifinals of last year’s U.S. Open, then was stopped by Kerber in Melbourne in January. This year Djokovic is a bigger favourite then ever and, should he win, he would become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four slam titles at once. This year, Djokovic is 37-3 with a tour-high five titles.
He has been in Paris this week, practicing on the red clay and testing his back.
The world number one has fallen agonisingly short of the trophy he needs to complete his career grand slam, losing in the final three times in the last four years.
Djokovic doesn’t seem too concerned, either. He knew that he was sapped by a couple of lengthy, hard victories against Nadal and Kei Nishikori.
“No, I’m not feeling old”. “In the locker room, the lady said, ‘How are you?” So that’s how I approach things.
The bump-up is doubly significant because Nadal is bursting out of his slump and eager to rejustify his “King of Clay” moniker. A Roland Garros without Federer, it will be weird. “Everyone could see certain things”, Mauresmo said, in reference to her absence in Murray’s box during the Miami Masters.
Djokovic faces 100th-ranked Lu Yen-hsun while Murray opens against veteran Radek Stepanek, and Wawrinka has a tricky first match against hard-hitting Czech Lukas Rosol.
When it comes to meeting at Roland Garros, I would pick Nadal.
Serena joined Murray as a champion in Italy, picking up her first title anywhere in nine months.
America Serena Williams will join Djokovic in hoping to make history in France.
On the women’s side, Williams is trying to defend her title and capture her 22nd Grand Slam trophy. “The Spaniard has won a record nine French Open titles and often dominates the entire clay court season”.
“Second serve is one of the parts of his game that he was dedicated to”.
“I reduced the number of weeks that I could be present since the Australian Open and… effectively, we’ve spent little time together”, said Mauresmo, who won Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
But first, the illustrious tandem will head to the French Open and Wimbledon, the former of which begins on Sunday in Paris and continues through June 5, with live coverage to be broadcast on NBC and NBC Sports Network. However, he’s not and has missed a lot of playing time due to his injury. Following a Davis Cup stint in February, Murray went on to win more clay court matches this season than any other member of the “Big Four”. Landing in a very congested top half of the draw and projected to meet Williams in the quarter finals, expectations will be low for Azarenka, however she is the exact sort of player who can thrive in those situations.
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Federer, who for much of his career has been injury-free, needed a left knee operation after the Australian Open this year, saying afterwards he had torn his meniscus while running a bath for his twin daughters. Other names that could contend are Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova, Sara Errani, Simona Halep, and American Sloane Stephens.
