PARIS (AP)—Ana Ivanovic hit another low in her slide since winning the French Open two years ago, losing 6-3, 6-0 to 28th-seeded Alisa Kleybanova of Russia in the second round on a rainy Thursday.

The former No. 1 player was unseeded because she’s ranked only 42nd. The defeat marked her earliest exit in six trips to the French Open.

“It was a combination of a few things,” Ivanovic said. “I don’t think I played that bad, actually. For a while I think she didn’t miss a ball at all.”
 
The match lasted barely an hour—brief enough to be completed between showers. Play was delayed for 4 1/2 hours at the start, and there were two later interruptions.

Nine other matches were completed, seven on the women’s side. No. 4-seeded Jelena Jankovic and No. 11 Li Na won, while 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm lost to Jarmila Groth of Australia 6-0, 6-3.

Date Krumm became the oldest woman since 1985 to reach the second round when she upset former No. 1 Dinara Safina, the runner-up in 2008 and 2009.

Three seeded women were beaten: No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 21 Vera Zvonareva and No. 32 Kateryna Bondarenko.

Radwanska was upset by Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-3. Zvonareva lost to Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 6-4, 6-4. Bondarenko was beaten by Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-4, 6-1.

Jankovic eliminated Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Na defeated Stephanie Cohen-Aloro following the long delay at the start of the day, 6-2, 6-2.

“It’s not very pleasant to have to wait,” Cohen-Aloro said. “But we’re all in the same situation.”

On the men’s side, No. 25 Marcos Baghdatis rallied past Marcel Granollers of Spain 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-2.

Sixteen singles were postponed, including those involving Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, meaning they won’t play their second-round matches until at least Friday—the sixth day of the tournament. Nadal faces Horacio Zeballos, Djokovic plays Kei Nishikori, and Williams takes on Julia Goerges of Germany.

Twenty doubles matches were also postponed.

No. 6-seeded Andy Roddick led Blaz Kavcic 6-3, 5-7, 4-3 when their match was suspended for a second time. Those still scheduled to take the court on Thursday included four-time champion Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova.

Ivanovic has been nursing a right shoulder injury, and her serve was unreliable against Kleybanova. Ivanovic made less than half her first serves, including only 35 percent in the second set, and she won just 17 service points while double-faulting seven times.

The Serb is 10-10 this year and has won a total of two matches in the past three Grand Slam tournaments. Last winter she hired Steffi Graf’s old coach, Heinz Gunthardt, and she said she has since made progress.

“It’s going to take some time for it to become a pattern and just being used to competing again at that high level against top players,” Ivanovic said. “Some days it might be there; some days might not. No doubt I’m on the right way.”

Kleybanova advanced to the third round for the first time.

During the first rain delay, the players’ cafeteria and lounge areas in the main stadium were packed with players and their entourages, and there were long lines at concession stands and souvenir shops. Several hundred fans sat under umbrellas on center court watching a video replay of last year’s final between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling.

“I’m on the floor of the lockeroom in my bed of towels playing Angry Birds,” American doubles specialist Bob Bryan tweeted four hours into the delay. “Anyone have 3 stars on all levels?”

Rain fell with the tournament already behind schedule following three delays Wednesday, the longest of which lasted 90 minutes. Four men’s second-round matches were suspended because of darkness Wednesday night, and four women’s matches were postponed.

The only washout of an entire day’s schedule on record at Roland Garros occurred May 30, 2000. Even so, the French tennis federation has been pushing for a roof and has studied the possibility of moving the tournament, with a site next to the Versailles castle among the locations being considered.

A project announced last year to build a new court with a retractable roof less than 500 yards from the current center court was blocked because of political issues.

Wimbledon added a retractable roof last year atop a stadium that opened in the 1920s, and the Australian Open has retractable roof over two courts. But the French and U.S. Open must wait when it rains.

PARIS (AP)—The French-speaking voice booming through loudspeakers at Court Philippe Chatrier recited Roger Federer’s bona fides during prematch introductions, detailing his six titles at Wimbledon, five at the U.S. Open, four at the Australian Open and then, reaching a crescendo, concluded this way:

“One at Roland Garros, here, last year!”

Federer smiled. Fans roared, many rising to applaud. Playing at the French Open as defending champion for the first time, Federer gave ‘em plenty to cheer about Monday, dipping into his considerable repertoire of shotmaking in a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory over 71st-ranked Peter Luczak of Australia.
 
With the end result far from in doubt, Federer turned the outing into a glorified practice session. He closed one extended exchange by slicing a backhand with so much spin that, after landing, the ball darted back toward the net, away from Luczak. Federer acknowledged the cheers by raising an index finger, lest somebody forget he’s No. 1.

“If it was anyone else, I’d be getting pretty angry,” said Luczak, whose career mark in Grand Slam matches fell to 5-14. “He just had me on a string and just (was) toying with me at the end. I think he was enjoying it.”

Federer made only 11 unforced errors, won 50 of 64 points on his serve and faced one break point, which he saved.

“I was pretty relaxed,” said Federer, who can tie Pete Sampras’ record of 286 total weeks at No. 1 in the rankings June 7. “It was like a perfect match to get off the French Open campaign, really.”

Other top players—even those who also won—were less pleased with their performances on Day 2, when a searing sun carried the temperature into the 80s and made the most grueling of tennis’ surfaces even more of a test of fitness.

The No. 1-ranked woman, Serena Williams, for example, found little to smile about after following Federer into the main stadium and beating Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland 7-6 (2), 6-2.

“I definitely didn’t feel good about it,” said Williams, who counts the 2002 French Open among her 12 major championships. “At least I won. I think I’m still in the tournament; that’s what matters.”

She compiled 10 aces, converted 3 of 3 break points and accumulated a 28-13 edge in winners. Asked what pleased her about the way she played, Williams replied: “Across the board, nothing, really, just to be honest.”

It was not the sort of afternoon for long outings, but some players just can’t seem to help themselves, such as No. 4 Andy Murray and former top-10 player Richard Gasquet of France. Gasquet started well, but Murray finished well and won 4-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.

Murray also lost the first two sets before beating Gasquet in five at Wimbledon in 2008.

Murray’s body language was about as bad as his play in the early going, and he pounded a fist into his forehead after blowing one backhand slice attempt in the third set. Yet it was Gasquet, who missed last year’s French Open after testing positive for cocaine, that faded. So Murray—a 2009 quarterfinalist at Roland Garros, twice the runner-up at other major tournaments, and Britain’s best hope for its first male Grand Slam champion since the 1930s—still will be around in the second round.

“He’s always fighting, fighting, putting all the balls in the court,” Gasquet said. “Even if he’s not playing so good, he’s very tough to beat.”

Two seeded Spaniards lost, No. 21 Tommy Robredo and No. 27 Feliciano Lopez, while Monday’s winners included No. 3 Novak Djokovic, No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez, No. 13 Gael Monfils, No. 14 Ivan Ljubicic, No. 19 Nicolas Almagro, No. 25 Marcos Baghdatis, and three U.S. men: No. 17 John Isner, Taylor Dent and Mardy Fish.

The 29-year-old Dent never before had won a French Open match and remarked with a wide smile: “Better late than never, right?”

He pointed out that the hot and dry weather has transformed the clay, making the surface “really quick. It’s almost like a hard court out there.”

One figures that should bode well for him and the 6-foot-9 Isner, as well as two other big-serving Americans, Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey, who are on Tuesday’s schedule. Remember: No U.S. man has reached the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003.

“If it’s fast, it’s ideal for the Americans, more so than any other type of players out here,” Dent said. “We always have that label, like, ‘Oh, you’re American. First round. See you later.’ So I think we get a lot of pride from winning matches here.”

There were zero notable upsets among the women, and Williams will be joined in the second round by No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, No. 5 Elena Dementieva, No. 7 Sam Stosur, No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 11 Li Na, No. 17 Francesca Schiavone and No. 24 Lucie Safarova.

Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion and former No. 1 now ranked 42nd, won her opener, but Melanie Oudin, the teenager from Marietta, Ga., who made surprising runs at last year’s Wimbledon and U.S. Open, lost to Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 7-5, 6-2.

Oudin lost in qualifying at Roland Garros a year ago, but her ranking of 37th now allows her direct entry into tournaments—meaning she keeps gaining experience at tennis’ top levels.

“I’m definitely used to it a lot more because I’ve been in this environment more now than I was before,” Oudin said. “I still love playing, and I think that’s the important thing—that I’m enjoying it, looking forward to going to new places that I get to go this year.”

Scanning each of this year’s French Open draws from top to bottom, the same thought comes to mind first: The guard, despite being tugged and pulled in various directions over the years, refuses to change. The top two men’s seeds, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have held those pole positions in virtually every Grand Slam for the last five years. But their dominance is in its infancy compared to the top two women’s seeds, Serena and Venus Williams, the latter of whom reached her first major final back in stone-age 1997—an entirely different century. Order just keeps being restored.

Once we get below the top rungs, though, the men’s and women’s draws diverge rapidly. The men’s side, where either Federer or Nadal have reached the final each year since 2005, is, on paper, more predictable than ever. Two players who have beaten both Rog and Rafa in the past year, Juan Martin del Potro and Nikolay Davydenko, are out, while the two guys who have given them more collective trouble in recent seasons than anyone else, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, come to Paris with question marks hanging over their heads. The opposite is true for the women. Serena and Venus may be No. 1 and 2 in the world again, but neither has been to the final at Roland Garros since they played each other there in 2002. And while one dangerous player, Kim Clijsters, won’t be in attendance, another, four-time champion Justine Henin, has to be on the short list of Most Imposing 22nd Seeds in history.

Predictable men, unpredictable women? Let’s give them both a shot.

The Men  

First Quarter

Despite the high-profile pullouts, Federer still stumbled into a difficult draw. His quarter includes Soderling, last year’s finalist; Montanes, a pesky dirtballer who beat him a couple of weeks ago; Monfils, a crowd favorite who took a set from him here two years ago in the semis; and, maybe most dangerous of all, the newly reliable Ernests Gulbis, who has already played three three-setters with Federer in 2010, and won one of them. The top seed might even be tested in the second round, where he could get Janko Tipsarevic. They played a five-set classic in Australia in 2008.

Federer has, as usual, set himself up to peak for the French. He played his best tennis since the Australian Open last week in Madrid, avenged the loss to Gulbis, and nearly took Nadal to three sets in the final. The ugly shanks that had followed him through Rome and Estoril appeared to have been ironed out, and by the end of the tournament he was sounding almost defiantly confident about his chances to defend in Paris. So let’s ask the question again: Is this, at last, the major where Federer’s semifinal streak (what is it now, 23? 37? 73?) comes to its inevitable end? Which do we weigh more heavily, that inevitability, or the pressure that any opponent trying to beat Federer will feel as he tries to win a third set against him on center court? Soderling, Monfils, Montanes: Of those guys, only Soderling seems capable of rising to that occasion, but he’d have to win four matches just to get to Federer, and the Sod’s form has been highly erratic of late. Gulbis? Is this a Davydenko replay? A guy beats Federer in the warm-up event no one will remember, but not when history is watching.

First-round match to watch: Gulbis vs. a guy who plays well in his native France, Julien Benneteau

Surprise name to run across: Taylor Dent. What’s he doing here?

Semifinalist: Federer

***

Second Quarter

We start here with an aficianado’s special, between Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet, two sure-shot kids who are, at the moment, not too sure about much of anything. Each will want this match badly, because the winner will find a a pretty wide section awaiting him. Tsonga, Berdych, Youzhny, Isner, Baghdatis, Robredo, Garcia-Lopez: They’ve all had a nice run, or at least a nice match, this year, but can one of them really reach the semis?

Murray will come in with little pressure—he can only go up after the last couple of months, and if he loses, he gets more time to practice on grass. The fragile Tsonga, who retired in the second round in Madrid, will face home-crowd pressure, historically a problem for French players. He’ll also have to face his own frustrating unpredictability. Winning without his best, and sometimes even with his best, isn’t Tsonga’s forte. The stage may be set for Garcia-Lopez, an old-fashioned (and kind of old: he’s 26) clay grind who has had a steady season thus far and reached a career-high No. 38, to make his one move.

In other words, I have no idea whose coming out of this quarter.

Second-round match to watch: Tsonga vs. countryman Josselin Ouanna

Fourth-round match to hope for: The Luke War—Lukas Lacko vs. Lukas Kubot

Semifinalist: Garcia-Lopez

***

Third Quarter

More uncertainty lurks. Novak Djokovic, the top seed in the section, has had allergy issues and couldn’t play in Madrid. Andy Roddick, the second seed, hasn’t played a match on clay this season. In between them are other question marks, guys who could break out one day and fizzle the next: Monaco, Ferrero, Querrey. Even the obvious choice, David Ferrer, isn’t all that obvious. For all of his working man’s persistence and down-and-dirty clay prowess, he’s never made it work for him long enough to reach the semis at the French. But after the solid clay season he’s put in so far, he remains the obvious choice.

Sleeper: Santiago Giraldo, a kid from Columbia with a killer backhand

Semifinalist: Ferrer

***

Fourth Quarter

This is about as favorable a French Open draw as Rafael Nadal could have hoped for as the season began. No del Potro, no Davydenko, no Soderling; of the guys who have troubled him in the last year, only Ljubicic is in his vicinity, and he’s an unlikely threat on clay. Lleyton Hewitt, a tough out, is a potential third-rounder, and either Fernando Gonzalez, Fernando Verdasco or Nicolas Almagro, who took a set from him in Madrid, might be waiting in the quarters. But, compared to what might have been, Nadal has to like the sight of those names.

First-round match for lefty lovers to watch: Llodra vs. Bellucci. Odd but possibly highly entertaining shot-maker’s special.

Semifinalist: Nadal

***

Semifinals: Federer d. Garcia-Lopez; Nadal d. Ferrer

Final: While Federer will be motivated to beat Nadal for the first time in Paris and exorcise all the clay demons for good, I’ll take Nadal, not just because it’s on dirt, but because in most of their major finals, he’s found a way to win, to stay a step ahead of Federer both tactically and physically, at the crucial moment. Nadal is not just the king of clay, he’s the best at beating the best.

Champion: Rafael Nadal

***

The Women

First Quarter

As with the ATP side, the top section of the women’s draw is loaded (I’ll go with that word rather than the equally appropriate “stacked.”) Serena, Henin, and Stosur alone would make a murderer’s row—they’ve played the best tennis of 2010 between them—but you’ve also got Sharapova and home-faves Bartoli and Cornet just for kicks. There’s not a lot to keep Serena from reaching the quarters, where you have to guess she’ll get the winner of Henin-Stosur. And you have to guess, based on experience and their only head-to-head match last month, that that will be Henin. Right? I wouldn’t count Stosur out; she may get tight, but she’s been playing with so much strenght this year that it might not matter. Still, while Serena has said she wants another French, clay will never be her best surface. While Henin will probably have to win ugly a couple of times—she’s still prone to the odd, inexplicable disaster—I’m not going to pick against the four-time champion.

Semifinalist: Henin

***

Second Quarter

With all that firepower up top, what’s left for the rest of the draw? The picking start to get a little slimmer in this section, where the top seeds are Jankovic and—believe it—Radwanska. But hidden between them are two intriguing names, that of last year’s runner-up, Dinara Safina, and 2009’s most improved player, Yanina Wickmayer. Of all these players, only Safina has reached a final at the French. But Jankovic has been playing the best tennis of late and seems to have found some of her 2008 swagger.

First-round match to watch: Safina vs. Kimiko Date-Krumm

Semifinalist: Jankovic

***

Third Quarter

What about Sveta, you might ask; she is the defending champ. What about her? She’s also as flaky as ever, her commitment and passion impossible to gauge. Do you have any idea how she’ll do? I don’t. She could lose in the first round to Cirstea; she could go all the way to the final.

The top seed on the other side is Caroline Wozniacki, whose athletic-wallboard game would seem to be a natural fit for clay, except that she’s been suffering from the opposite problem as Sveta: over-commitment. Woz has played a lot of tennis already this year. Does anyone else stick out in this quarter? Pennetta? Li Na? Safarova? Kirilenko? Petkovic? If you like chaos and surprise semifinalists, you might get your wish here.

Semifinalist: Maybe you can tell me

***

Fourth Quarter

Order is somewhat restored, at least on paper, at the bottom of the draw. Venus Williams is the top seed, Dementieva is second, a beleaguered but perhaps still dangerous Azarenka is third, and Petrova is also in the area. But it gets interesting with two other, lower seeds, each of whom has come from close to nowhere to win important titles in recent weeks: Aravane Rezai and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.

For new blood’s sake, I’d like to see those two continue their strong play in Paris. Unfortunately, I’ve started to count on the opposite happening in the women’s game. That’s not necessarily the case for Williams, of course. She’s become a steadier week to week winner in recent years, but has also made a habit of not taking the next step at the most important tournaments. Her current clay form looks solid enough to give her another chance in two weeks.

Semifinalist: V. Williams

***

Semifinals: Henin d. Jankovic; V. Williams d. Maybe You Can Tell Me

Final: Henin d. V. Williams

Champion: Justine Henin

***

I know, those are pretty safe picks, but the French does breed dominant champions. Either way, I’m in Paris and will be out at Roland Garros for the first week, starting tomorrow.

[[Mornin'. I thought I'd kick off our French Open coverage with Bobby's preview of the women's tournament. We'll be doing a podcast shortly where Tom Perrotta, Ed McGrogan (formerly known as "Mr. Monday Morning Netpost") and I will discuss both draws. I'll have a post  up at ESPN a little later and Jackie-Oh! will be around this evening. I'll post my own thoughts on the men's draw in some fashion or other tomorrow - PB]]

by Bobby Chintapalli, Contributing Writer

Let’s start with €1.12 million, because it’s not a bad chunk of change for two weeks of work. For women’s tennis it’s the yummiest of French treats, and exactly what the French Open women’s singles champion will pick up on June 5. For those of us used to smaller numbers, that’s €160,000 per match. For those who prefer more tangible details, that’s 36,000 jars of that Fat Girl Scrub Victoria Azarenka tweeted about, 16 of those Range Rovers Maria Sharapova drives around and maybe even one whole closet in Jelena Jankovic’s palatial San Diego digs.

It’s a lot of money, but it’s not the only thing 128 players stand to gain during the next two weeks in Paris. Let’s look at some other goodies to be had and the women who could have them.

A Bigger Legacy (Serena Williams, Justine Henin, Venus Williams)

Grand Slam singles titles are the most-frequently cited measure of tennis greatness, and that makes Serena Williams… special. She has 12 titles, which is five more than her closest competitors among active players, Venus Williams and Justine Henin. Another title would not only put more distance between her and these mere mortals but also extricate her from a boring tie with Billie Jean King on the all-time list. The title would also take her halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam. Best of all for Serena, a win would mean an awards ceremony… and several minutes to sell an international TV audience on the Serena Williams Signature Statement Sexy Sequin Knit Scarf.

As for Justine Henin, a woman we’re not likely to see gallivanting around Paris in a sexy sequin anything, the tournament’s a chance to win a first major for her Version 2.0 self and to make a case for being second-best among active players. She’d wriggle out of her major singles title tie with Venus. (She’d also get into a total singles titles tie (43 titles) with Venus.) A fifth French Open title would also be more proof that she’s the decade’s queen of clay.

The decade’s queen of grass, Venus Williams, has a few things to gain herself at the French Open this year, when she’s going in with the tour’s best main-draw win percentage (.867) and great clay-court results (Acapulco winner, Rome quarterfinalist, Madrid runner-up). She too could establish herself as second-best active player by winning in Paris. Also a title could get her the Number 1 ranking (if Serena loses before the fourth round), would leave her one Australian Open title away from a career Grand Slam… and should be a fun early birthday present a few weeks before her 30th birthday.

A First Grand Slam Title (Sam Stosur, Jelena Jankovic)

Sam Stosur has had a claytacular year. She won Charleston, lost to Henin in the Stuttgart final then to Venus in the Madrid quarterfinals. She has the most wins (14) and best win percentage (.875) on clay. She also has the fourth-best win percentage overall (.788). Stosur is the only Top 10 player going in to the French Open with a new career-high ranking, which says she’s playing better than she ever has – and better than just about everyone else. Last year she surprised us by reaching the semifinals; this year she wouldn’t shock us by going farther.

Jelena Jankovic, like Sam Stosur, is competing in her seventh French Open. Jankovic had a 2008 worth talking about (just ask her); she was the US Open runner-up and the year-end Number 1. To the dismay of her fans and glitter manufacturers everywhere, she didn’t do as well last year. This year though she’s making us take notice again, and it’s not just the neon green. She won Indian Wells and made an even bigger statement in Rome, where she lost in the final but not before beating The Sisters to get there. Still the best way for her to convince us she can win a Grand Slam title is by winning a Grand Slam title.
 
Confidence

Dinara Safina could use something that’s just like chocolate cake but without all the calories – confidence. Last year she was the woman to beat and now has a gazillion ranking points (or 1400) to defend. You have to think she’s not obsessing about the points – maybe playing at all is better than, you know, a broken back – and you can’t help but hope that will help her win a few matches and boost her confidence going into Wimbeldon.

The tournament is a chance for other players coming in with injuries or so-so form to get some ego-boosting wins too. This includes the three active former Grand Slam singles winners not mentioned above – Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic, who could play well knowing they’ve lit it up here before -  yet aren’t the subjects of much pre-tournament hype.

Momentum

For those who’ve been in form on clay recently, the French Open is a chance to build momentum on the biggest clay stage. Think Aravane Rezai, who won Madrid, and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who won Rome. Think also Shahar Peer, who’s won more matches (27) than anyone else this year. And don’t forget 20-year-old Anastasija Sevastova, who her first title at the Estoril Open earlier this month.

Also playing well are Li Na and Nadia Petrova, who have among the 15 best clay win percentages this year. Both also are among the 15 active women with the best Grand Slam win percentages. Li Na has a percentage that’s higher not only than that of Petrova but also Wozniacki, Radwanska and Safina.

The French Open is also a chance for Elena Dementieva to regain the momentum she had early this year. She’s one of two players to have won two singles titles this year (Venus is the other) and is currently the highest-ranked Russian. After an impressive 45 consecutive Grand Slam appearances (the longest active streak) she’s still the best player without a Grand Slam title. She lost early in the last few tournaments, so the 46th time may not be the charm. It is, however, a chance to get back on track before she gets back on grass.

Legitimacy

Every major is another opportunity for the top young players to show they’re contenders to go all the way… someday. Think Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki and Yanina Wickmayer, who all may be subject to injury woes this year. And there’s also the wily Agnieszka Radwanska, whom Richard Williams has praised more than once.

Ranking Points

Those who didn’t play well – or at all – last year can also gain some ranking points. Consider some of the players who lost in the first round last year – Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, Daniela Hantuchova, Alona Bondarenko, Alisa Kleybanova and Maria Kirilenko. Consider some who didn’t make it out of the qualifying rounds – Melanie Oudin, Andrea Petkovic, Kimiko Date Krumm and Sofia Arvidsson. Consider some who didn’t even play – Vera Zvonareva, Shahar Peer, Arantxa Parra Santonja and Alexandra Dulgheru. Think all these ladies have something to gain here this year?

Fans

For all 128 players in the women’s singles draw, the French Open is a chance to win new fans. The Grand Slams bring them out of the woodwork. Can you imagine Andrea Petkovic, for one, not leaving Paris with more fans than when she got there? (She’s hands-down tennis fanatics’ favorite among “unknown” players.) Here’s to hoping that regardless of whether the tournament shows them the money, the fans will show Petkovic – and who knows who else, by the time the trophies are handed out – some love.

For the men’s draw, click here. For the women’s draw, click here.

PARIS (AP)—Four-time champion Justine Henin’s return to Roland Garros might include a third-round match against Maria Sharapova and a rivalry-renewing quarterfinal against Serena Williams.

The bracket also sets up Henin or the No. 1-seeded Williams, who won the 2002 French Open, to face No. 4 Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals. No. 2 Venus Williams could meet No. 5 Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals and defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals.

The most intriguing first-round matchup is in the men’s field, where No. 4 Andy Murray will take on Richard Gasquet, a Frenchman who once reached the Wimbledon semifinals and used to be ranked in the top 10 but was suspended for part of last season after testing positive for cocaine.
 
Defending champion and top-seeded Roger Federer plays 71st-ranked Peter Luczak of Australia in the first round, while four-time champion Rafael Nadal was drawn to begin against 18-year-old Gianni Mina of France, who made his tour-level debut this week and so is only ranked 653rd. Mina got into the field thanks to a wild card from the French tennis federation.

Nadal will be a heavy favorite in that match, of course, and also is considered the man to beat at the tournament, which begins Sunday. His 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros ended with a fourth-round loss to Robin Soderling last year. Soderling could be Federer’s quarterfinal foe this year, in what would be a rematch of the 2009 final. The other possible men’s quarterfinals are Nadal vs. No. 7 Fernando Verdasco; No. 3 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 6 Andy Roddick; and Murray vs. No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Both Williams sisters will start off against Swiss opponents in the first round: Venus takes on Patty Schnyder, a former top-10 player and two-time French Open quarterfinalist now ranked 61st; Serena plays Stefanie Voegele, who is ranked 76th and has a career record of 2-4 at Grand Slam tournaments. Voegele never has faced the younger Williams; Schnyder is 0-10 against the older one.

The 22nd-seeded Henin won the French Open in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, but she abruptly retired while ranked No. 1 shortly before the 2008 tournament. She returned to the tour this season and quickly made an impact, reaching the final of the Australian Open.

Henin lost at that stage to Serena Williams, who leads their head-to-head series 8-6. But during Henin’s last full season, 2007, they met at three consecutive Grand Slam tournaments—the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open—each time in the quarterfinals, and the Belgian won each of those matches.

Famously, after a straight-set loss to Henin at Roland Garros that year, Williams sniffed: “All she had to do was show up.”

That’s nothing compared to what happened when they played each other in the 2003 French Open semifinals, though, with Henin snapping Williams’ 33-match Grand Slam winning streak. There was a flap over whether Henin tried to call time, then lied about it to the chair umpire; Williams fired up the crowd by arguing line calls, was jeered off the court, then teared up at her postmatch news conference.

France’s Aravane Rezai earned the biggest win of her career Sunday with a 6-2, 7-5 upset of Venus Williams in the Madrid final. En route to the title, the go-for-broke Frenchwoman powered her way past former world No. 1s Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic and Williams, who lost a 5-2 lead in the second set, as well as six set points.

With the victory, the 23-year-old will move into the Top 20 when the new WTA rankings are released Monday. It appears that Rezai may pass Marion Bartoli, making her the highest seeded Frenchwoman at Roland Garros.
“It’s the best week of my career and I’m very happy,” said Rezai. “I played very well, I’m very proud of myself because it was a very tough tournament and a lot of players were here. I just believe in myself.”

Although Venus failed to win the title, she still has a chance to grab the No. 1 ranking at Roland Garros if she wins the tournament, and her sister Serena fails to reach the fourth round.—M.C.