Now that Henin is retired, who's your pick to win the French Open and why?

Question

Now that she's gone, its a real tossup as to who will win it. There's alot of parity in the women's game right now and alot of good, strong players. I'm leaning toward Ivanovic right now because the clay suits her game and she came so close last year. Sharapova and Serena are limping and Kuznetsova is off form. Jankovic would also be a good choice and Alize Cornet figures to go far in front of her boisterous home fans. Safina has also been on a tear recently. Who's your pick? I'm not even going to ask about the men because - duh!

Answer 1

I guess for the men it's Nadal, unless someone manages a huge upset. For the women...Serena,(Justine was the thorn in her side here) Jankovic or Ivanovic...I don't see Sharapova as a threat . Cornet or Safina could go far but not win.

Answer 2

d**n! i must not have caught your question when i was posting a similar. oh,i suppose it won't hurt to answer twice.

anyway,

i agree wholeheartedly with michael n. i think jankovic is just the strongest player at the moment. and i am not even counting the measely american surfaces because honestly,those courts,really,are just essentially hard-courts you can slide on. red clay is far more difficult and jelena grinds her opponents down on this surface which will be detremental to the mostly power players in sharapova and serena who won those particular tourneys.

and i think dinara safina has a major dark horse chance. just depends if she's able to continue that confident play she showcased in berlin and is able to stay mentally strong.

and yes alize cornet is going to be making some raucous noise.

Answer 3

no one likes tennis

shut up

Answer 4

Sharapova

Answer 5

sharapova or jankovic...

Answer 6

serena

Answer 7

Now that Henin is retired, and with the way things have been in the past months and weeks, Jankovic seems to be the one with the most potential to win the French Open despite Ivanovic and Sharapova being ranked above her and her countrywoman Ivanovic being a finalist in two slams already.  Funny that she has seemed top 3 for a year or so now! Any of these three are heavy favourites not only for the FO and the other slams, but also for the no.1 ranking.  The gap is getting smaller now between the three of them now that Henin has retired.

Things have been looking good with her and always consistent in results. Very fit with stamina while beating both low-ranked to high-ranked girls and winning Rome again shows this.  Her mental game is also strong and she has matured even more.  If she stays healthy bodywise, then she should have no problem one match at a time at the French Open.

Watch out for the Russians in the top 10, always very seriously dangerous.

Answer 8

You are totally right about ivanovic. I think she'll win. Not only is sharapova hurt, she plays like a female andy roddick, all power. Jankovic i think will be in the finals though. Just a consistent player (much like nadal). And no the men isn't duh now that Djokovic is in the picture. Who knows? Everybody thought Federer would never lose (except on clay), but Djokovic beat him! We'll have to wait and see

Answer 9

i am leaning more towards jankovic.. now with henin out her biggest threat, she might turn into the player she can be.. very consistent, complete and lots of variety..

her movement is very good for the clay.. i think she is more likely then ivanovic..

sharpova might power her way through..

Answer 10

Jankovic

Answer 11

Ana ivanovic and jelena jankovic both can meet in the final..... both had a best results on clay and they definitely comfortable on that surface... with ivanovic storm final last year and leads henin for a while.... this year she will fights back and beat the nervous..

jankovic are through with 3 clay court titles and all came at tier 1 event (2007- Charleston and Rome, 2008-Rome)... kuznetsova failed to passed 3rd round at Berlin and Rome as she was a runner-up last year at both tournaments.... so, she's out...

sharapova still alive as she won at Amelia island and reached semifinal at rome and quarterfinals at Charleston... so, she also can make a victory and at least top 4...

of course, Serena Williams as she won title at Charleston and back-to-back quarterfinals at Berlin and Rome... chakvetadze, Venus and hantuchova may challenge it but not tough..... while Russian side like safina and zvonareva can make a shock as both won title at Berlin and Prague as well and zvonareva also a runner-up at Charleston..

while dementieva was runner-up at Berlin as she defeated both tops Serbian to reached final.... so, she had a chance to reached final also... others young name such as cornet, radwanska, azarenka, szavay, cibulkova and wozniacki can reached at least round of 16.... so, it was tough when henin not in tennis because everyone in a good shape and can make a surprise....

Answer 12

ANA IVANOVIC!! I hope she kicks azz!!!

Answer 13

I'm gonna go with Jelena Jankovic, because as the now 2-time champion of Rome, she's playing the best clay court tennis at the moment.

Answer 14

my picks are jelena jankovic or serena or ana ivanovic..

my srong others are sharapova or venus williams

and my upcoming upsets are cornet, safina, or pironkova

those are my pix

i hope sharapova will win b/c  she is my fav player

but good luck to everyone

and goodluck on finding ur best answer dude!!!

Answer 15

Jelena Jankovic.

Answer 16

Serena coz' she's bent to reclaim the crown no matter who her opponents will be. All ya mentioned are capable as well coz' they're young & full of promise & enthusiasms. It will surely be a fantastic fight to the finish. Now, let's enjoy & wait who ever will replace the Henin dynasty.

Answer 17

Serena, because when she wants to win, no one can stop her. Maria can't beat her anyday really. I'd love to see Maria win, but her best bet is if someone else knocks out Serena.

Answer 18

i still hope sharapova wins it.. its the only grand slam she hasn't won yet!

Answer 19

I can bet my monay on that ..it will be Jelena Jankovic....she simply too great going right now on clay...just like Nadal...she is gonna dominate the clay season for at least a couple of years now...

Serena seems to be in tremendous touch this season..it is just unfortunate..she got a stiff back b4 Rome Semis against Alize Cornet..i don't think it will trouble her for more than 3 days..

Sharapova is just power player..she is just a fighter....If u love her for her beauty, just watch one of her matches against Patty schnyder..u will love her for Tennis..she is as spirited on clay as Nadal..but not as good as Nadal..

Safina does stand an outside chance..and that french teenager..Alize Cornet..Will make some HUGE noise at RG..she has her home support....

Answer 20

I'm going with Serena because of all the women on the tour right now she's the most consistent clay court player and she's won I believe 22 clay court titles, and the singles and doubles French Open title. Serena is more bound to win because of her experience and she seems so much more focused and ready to just go and play her heart out this year. If not Serena, my other pick would definitely be Ana Ivanovic, she played phenomenal last year at the French and she's got the game and heart to go for it. But if there was a dark horse that could sneak up and take it I'd pick Alize Cornet, she play fantastically on clay.