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The animal surface beckons

Dhritiman Hui

Mid season heat, humid climes, scorching baseliners are all the norm at the French Open, the king of all terraue batteau tournaments upon the ATP circuit. All roads since the last month have led to Roland Garros, named after the World War aviator whose tragic flight ended in flames just a few miles from centre court.

Players all around the world have shed all the flair, all the frills from their game, and have steadily strengthened their wrists and legs in anticipation of the thousand of baseline rallies that await them in Paris.

The players have weaved their way through the long winding preparations, spread over the Italian Open, the German Open, the Monte Carlo Open, and have begun to trickle into France.

Forty-two days prior to D-day, the players submit their rankings, and upon knowing whether they have been accepted or not, head into Paris, book themselves into hotels, and, in the eventuality of not being accepted, set about proving themselves in the hard grind of the qualifiers.

As you are reading this, 128 men and 64 women are slugging it out for 16 slots in the men's draw, and eight in the women's draw. Each of these players will be aiming to notch up three wins, which will then allow them to be slotted into the main draw.

Meanwhile, a young man who shocked the world the year before last with a game of power tennis that belied his wiry frame to win the Open in 1997, arrived in Paris with a few more ounces added to his build, and a far more discreet, mature on court ensemble.
Gustave "Guga" Kuerten, though will have a heavier load to carry upon his shoulders this year. Displaying brilliant form to win at both Monte Carlo and at Rome, Kuerten will now carry with him the expectations of a legion of fans that has now grown from the club of one that it used to be in back in 1997.
His Grandmother, who he says taught him all he knows about tennis will be proud to see her grandson now lay his claim to become the first player to win three major clay court titles since Nastase in '73 and Muster in '95.

While the number one spot has changed hands thrice between a Russian, an American and a Spaniard, one man who has been grabbing the spotlight with remarkable consistency with some ominous form on terrain that is not entirely to his liking is Patrick Rafter.
Rafter's win-loss record reads 9-8 this year. The Aussie gave vent to his frustration when he thumped himself on his head with his own racquet and gave himself a nasty bruise during the final of the Italian Open, where the in-form Kuerten took him out in straight sets. Rafter had had the squeeze on him the whole year, getting incredibly tough draws in all the tournaments he's played. But the form he displayed at Rome makes him another top contender.

The bloc that has made Roland Garros its own for the last three years is the Spanish Armada. Defending champion Moya, playing consistently throughout the year, but still failing to find that extra edge that catapulted him to four titles last year, makes him the favourite amongst his Hispanic compatriots. His best friend Alex Corretja has been craving rest off late, but it is most unlikely that he will pass an opportunity to build on the reputation he gained after he annexed the ATP World Championships last year, beating Moya in the finals.
Felix Mantilla, Francisco Clavet, Albert Costa, all childhood training buddies, form the remainder of this Spanish quintet.

The men's seedings at the French Open coincide perfectly with the World rankings. Which means Pete Sampras enters as the second seed, which is a slightly tough rating to live up to, considering his best performance on clay has been a turbulent rise to the semi-finals last year.

Sampras comes to Roland Garros with a vengeance every year, determined to complete his collection of Grand Slam silverware, but every single time he manages to lose patience with staying put behind the baseline, and bows out with a flurry of unforced errors on the 'animal surface' .

The 'multiple surface' factor has rarely been a problem for the women at Roland Garros. The three ladies who dominated the French Open from 1989 to 1996 - Seles , Graf , Arantxa Sanchez -have all reached the numero uno slot in world rankings and have won titles on all sorts of different surfaces.
But last year, unseeded upstarts, like the Williams sisters swept through the draw, setting a precedent that will, in all probability, be matched in the coming three weeks by unseeded players like Anna Kournikova and Amelie Meresmo.

The women's game is not only deeper in terms of talent but also in terms of perseverance. The fable of Sanchez Vicario, who has played in the French final a whopping five times during her span of 10 years has won it just 2 times, is an inspirational example for all wild card entrants and qualifiers in the French Open. The defending champion knows what it takes to win on the Foro Italico surface and she is a definite contender to win it again. This surface is her favourite and the closest to the surfaces that she has grown up on at her native place, Spain.
Sanchez Vicario has looked unimpressive of late, but always manages to lift her game for the French Open, where she has reached the final four times in the last five years.
"I'm in good shape and I'm confident for Paris," said the Spaniard after losing to the current Diva in world tennis at Berlin.

Martina Hingis is the top seed and the absolute favourite for the French Open but has become equally used to disappointment in Paris. Last year, her bid for her first French Open victory was thwarted by Monica Seles in the semi-finals; the year before it was Iva Majoli who beat her in the final.

The French Open is the only Grand Slam that the 18-year-old Hingis, much like her male compatriot and former number one Pete Sampras, has not won. This time, it could be the Williams sisters who could spoils Hingis's dreams.
"It would obviously be a big disappointment if I didn't win," said Hingis, referring to her rich current form, after her victory in Berlin last week.

This year the Swiss 19-year-old is 31-1 winner on clay, and with the win at the German Open last week it would take nothing less than winning in Paris to meet public expectations.

Both Serena and Venus Williams have won clay-court tournaments in Hamburg and Rome this month, the perfect preparation for two weeks on the slow surface at Roland Garros. Venus will be the main rival for Hingis and has picked up on her consistency on clay, winning a battle royale at Rome against Hingis.
"I'm stronger than last year. I've learnt a lot from last season," said a glowing Venus at the post match conference. And unfortunately for the 19-year-old Swiss top seed, younger sibling Serena Williams is also feeling strong as well. She reached the fourth round in her French Open debut last year.
Williams, 17, has vaulted into the top 10 in the rankings after winning two titles and losing to older sister Venus in the final of the Lipton Championships. One of the Williams sister will definitely cause e problems for Hingis.

The lady that the afore mentioned trio will be eyeing with some apprehension will be the second seeded Lindsay Davenport, who has battled through a wrist injury and illness that has limited her to only six events this season. She won her only title in Sydney, Australia in January, reached the Australian Open semi-finals, and lost the No.1 ranking to Hingis on February 8. She reached the French Open semi-finals last year before losing to Sanchez-Vicario.

Three-time winner Monica Seles, who endured an emotional run to last year's final just three weeks after her father's death, is seeded third, followed by reigning Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic, who has struggled this year and is still hunting for the form which took her at the peak of the WTA rankings last year.

After missing last year's French Open with an injury, five-time champion Steffi Graf of Germany returns to Roland Garros as the sixth seed. And this time, the Parisians will finally have a French belle to root for with some confidence. Canadian-born French Mary Pierce, finalist at the Italian as well as the German Open, has peaked at just the perfect time to set right all the broken French hearts she left behind last year after a disastrous showing at Roland Garros.
Carrying the French flag with her into the Open, is the Australian Open runner-up Amelie Mauresmo, who is unseeded at the French Open, Sandrine Testud, seeded 12th, and Julie Halard-Decugis, finalist at the Italian Open. Van Roost, an outside favourite, has withdrawn with a strained left hip flexor, taking a little bit of the beauty and glamour from the women's draw.

Among the notable unseeded women are Russian teenager Anna Kournikova, Australian Open finalist, and Spain's Conchita Martinez.

The prize purses up for grabs have become just a little bit heavier this year. The champion will take home US $659,000, a marked increase from last year's winnings.