by Edmund K

Created on: May 17, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

From May 25th to June 8th, the French Open will be contested at Roland Garros, Paris. The second Grand Slam of the year promises to be a hotly contested tournament as the best players in the world vie for the prestigious title. This article will discuss predictions for the game, while analyzing the foundations for these predictions.

In the Mens' game, Roger Federer's dominance of the tennis world has seen him proclaimed by many as being the man to break the fourteen Grand Slam record set by Pete Sampras. So far, however, the French Open title has eluded Federer. Coupled with his unusual losses earlier in the year and Rafael Nadal's continuing clay court dominance, there are few that do not expect Rafael Nadal to take the title for the fourth consecutive year. Despite this, rising star Novak Djokovic could possibly cause an upset late in the tournament.

In the Women's game, the recent retirement of World Number 1 and French Open defending champion Justine Henin was met with shock throughout the tennis world. While formerly the Belgian tennis champion was the favorite for the title, her retirement has seen to it that the 2008 title will be hotly contested by the top ten players in the world, with new world number 1 Maria Sharapova one of the favorites for the title.

The most unique element of the French Open is that it is the only Grand Slam played on clay. While to the recreational player clay courts simply mean that one's socks (and sometimes shorts) will be stained red after a game, to professional players clay requires a whole new set of tactics and strategies.

The predominant surface throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, clay possess several different playing characteristics compared to other surfaces, and is widely regarded as the slowest professional surface. Points last longer on clay than any other surface, and clay court tournaments are less damaging to the joints but more demanding with regard to stamina and fitness, due to the longer points and the greater difficulty and effort required to hit a winner.

On a clay court, the ball will check on the ground, meaning that the ball bounces from the surface with greatly reduced speed. For this reason, flat hitting players who are accustomed to hitting many winners will find that the ball slows down considerably after striking the surface, making it more difficult to hit clean winners. For the same reason, players who hit with substantial spin will find that the ball bites the surface and kicks up higher (with

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