• What the Deuce

Flung wide open

Serena Williams has looked rusty on her return from injury © Getty Images

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• What the Deuce: A one-horse race
  
• Features: It's all about the King of Clay
  
• Profile: Justine Henin | Jelena Jankovic | Dinara Safina | Venus Williams | Serena Williams | Caroline Wozniacki

With over four months of the season already past, by the time the French Open comes around it is normally clear who is in form and who are the players likely to go the distance at Roland Garros. But with more than the usual share of upsets and surprises this season, it is virtually impossible to call, with no player leading the way. Four of the top five players are returning from injury, and huge outsiders have been claiming titles. What the Deuce has decided to stick its neck out and make some early predictions.

The top seed
After re-establishing her place at the top of the world rankings last year, Serena Williams will undoubtedly be the player to beat. Like men's No. 1 Roger Federer, Williams has an uncanny ability to raise her game for the big tournaments and she has an impressive record at the Grand Slams. That said, she has not won at Roland Garros since 2002, and still on the comeback from injury, the world No. 1 is far from her imperious best. And as Jelena Jankovic demonstrated in Rome last week, the 12-time Grand Slam champion is vulnerable. 11/2

The favourite
Four-time champion Justine Henin loves the French Open, fondly referring to Roland Garros as 'her garden' and expect her to make herself right at home in her first major tournament as a seed since she made her return to the sport in January. But just a week after winning her first tournament in two years, her first-round defeat to Aravane Rezai in Madrid suggests that she too has her weaknesses, and is not yet back to the form that saw her dominate on clay at her peak. 11/8

The defending champion
Svetlana Kuznetsova claimed her second Grand Slam title at the French Open last year, convincingly beating the favourite Dinara Safina in the final. But the Russian is the shadow of the player she was last season, having failed to reach the quarter-final stage of any tournament this year. She has suffered humiliating defeats to the likes of world No. 99 Regina Kulikova and Carla Suarez Navarro and has slipped down the rankings having won just eight matches in seven tournaments. Unless she can perform a spectacular turnaround in the next fortnight, Kuznetsova's chances of becoming only the fourth woman to defend her title in the last 20 years have all but slipped from her grasp.12/1

The one to beat
One of four players who has the unenviable record of having held the No. 1 spot without having won a Grand Slam title, Jelena Jankovic has been in impressive form this season. After claiming her first title of the year in Indian Wells, she thrashed Venus Williams in the quarter-finals in Rome before saving match point to edge Serena in the semis. After overcoming such fearsome opposition, she eventually lost to the lesser-known clay-courter Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the final. Jankovic has beaten the top three players already this season, and could be set to break her Grand Slam duck. 7/1

Sam Stosur has won 16 of her last 19 matches © Getty Images

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The dark horse
Former doubles specialist Sam Stosur has been one of the most consistent performers on the women's tour this season, reaching the semi-finals in three of her last four tournaments. She won a clay-court title in Charleston last month, and reached the final in Stuttgart where she fell to an in-form Henin. 14/1

Against the odds
Venus Williams has never won the French Open, and there is little danger of her doing it this year. Despite having successfully defended her Acapulco title on clay in March, Williams has not made it past the third round in the last three years at Roland Garros, and her big-serving aggressive baseline play is not well suited to clay. 16/1

Return from injury
Last year Dinara Safina was in red-hot form, having won back-to-back finals in Rome and Madrid and the world No. 1 was favourite to win her first ever Grand Slam title. After storming through the opening rounds without dropping a set, there looked like little chance of stopping Safina, who bulldozed past Dominika Cibulkova in the semi-finals. But she failed to break her Grand Slam duck, making it three defeats in as many finals as her serve fell to pieces against Kuznetsova. A back injury has thwarted Safina's season, and she has dropped to fifth in the world rankings after an opening round defeat to Alexandra Dulgheru in Rome. 20/1

Looking to go one better
World No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki burst onto the scene in 2008 and has made steady progress ever since. Still only 19, Wozniacki has already reached No. 2 in the world rankings. After reaching the US Open final last year, where she lost to Kim Clijsters, she has enjoyed an impressive run of form which saw her reach the final in Indian Wells and bag her first title of the year at Ponte Vedra. However, she has the tendency to slip up under pressure and inexperience at major events could hamper her challenge. 16/1

An outside bet
World No. 6 Elena Dementieva was in red hot form at the beginning of the season, snapping up two titles in Sydney and Paris, before suffering a dip in form. Two of her most disappointing tournaments were the Australian Open and Miami, where she fell in the second round of both, but she was unlucky enough to be drawn against the unseeded Henin on both occasions. She lost to in the third round in Rome last week to the resurgent Ana Ivanovic, but she still has won 20 of her 26 matches so far this year. 18/1

Odds, courtesy of Stan James, correct at time of publication. Click here to open an account and receive a £25 free bet

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