But there could be an emerging threat from her fellow American Madison Keys, who ran Williams close in the Rome final, and who seems to have developed a taste for claycourt action at just 21.
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Novak Djokovic celebrates his 29th birthday as the French Open starts today.
He began 2016 in Doha, where he collected his 60 career title.
Does one win over a exhausted and grumpy Novak Djokovic on a wet Sunday in Rome mean that Andy Murray will win the French Open?
The last man to hold the four most prestigious tennis titles simultaneously was Rod Laver, all the way back in 1969, when he pulled off a true Grand Slam, winning all in the same year.
AGNIESKA RADWANSKA She was a junior French Open champion back in 2006.
Take, for example, Rafael Nadal’s play on clay courts. Remember Last year Geo Super also had televised French Open 2015 which was much appreciated by the tennis and sports lovers.
Novak Djokovic attempts to hoist the Musketeers’ Trophy for the first time in his quest to complete a Grand Slam – consecutively and for his career. Can 2016 finally be the year where he crosses the Rubicon?
Meanwhile, defending champion Stan Wawrinka insisted that last year’s stunning triumph over Djokovic would have little bearing on his chances this time round. The Mallorcan won just two clay court titles for the first time since 2004 and lost four of his six matches against the Top 10, with each defeat coming in straight sets.
Former US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, though, feels time is running out for Djokovic to become the eighth man to win all four slam titles.
The 2012 semifinalist will face Su-Wei Hsieh in the second round.
That is because the weather in Paris has been overcast and somewhat chilly the past few days, and Williams – who joked that the warm weather only arrives at Roland Garros in time for the semifinals – said she put her tracksuit hood up following one practice session because she felt the cold on her ears.
Defending champion Serena Williams is bidding for her fourth Roland Garros title and needs one more major to equal Steffi Graf’s record for the Open era, and three more to match Margaret Smith Court’s all-time mark of 24 majors.
Play is scheduled to resume at 10:00 BST on Monday, although heavy rain is expected to disrupt proceedings once again in the French capital. Her losses to Angelique Kerber in Australia, to Victoria Azarenka in Indian Wells and to Svetlana Kuznetsova in Miami suggest that she is not playing at the same level as 2015. “The one area that I see that has regressed significantly is Rafa’s serve, and that’s particularly an issue when he plays Djokovic or Murray”. After the first point of the next game, she went to the sideline and requested medical attention, which Knapp didn’t think was fair.
Murray will consider adding another coach and even spoke of the possibility of reuniting with Ivan Lendl, under whom he won his two slam titles, but Gilbert agrees there should not be any rush.
It will only be when Serena Williams eventually hangs up her racquets, whenever that day comes, that we will truly appreciate her dominance at the top of the women’s game.
The talk of a 22nd major is something she’s had to mute, Williams told reporters in January at the Australian Open.
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Williams, 34, has played played in four tournaments this year – including a loss in the Australian Open title match – but reached the final in three of those events and won last week’s Italian Open in Rome. Don’t be tantalized by his odds at the French Open.
