Kim Clijsters On The Fence For French Open 2011

French Open 2011
By Hiland Doolittle, May 11th, 2011

Kim Clijsters has not had a great deal of success at Roland Garros and her status for the French Open 2011 beginning May 17^th and running through June 5^th is not definite. The world’s second ranked woman may be opening a Pandora’s Box of opportunity for a host of young talent ready to fill the 2010 Player of The Year’s shoes.

Kim Clijsters

While Kim Clijsters has been nursing a bad elbow, there has been a flurry of activity and a shift in the star-power of the WTA. Still leading the women is top ranked Dane Caroline Wozniacki who has won more matches than any tour player each of the past two years and is headed in the same direction this year. Caroline will be the top seed at French Open 2011 and just may be ready to dispel the rumors about her inability to win Grand Slam tournaments. The Grande Dane is 31-6 this year, has won three titles and been runner-up in three other WTA tournaments. The clay court may serve her game quite well as Caroline (5/1) can chase down a lot of balls.

The Blonde powerhouse Victoria Azarenka has leap-frogged the field to take over the number 4 WTA ranking. Victoria has won 2 WTA titles this season and boasts a solid 25-7 won-lost record in 2011. Victoria has found the confidence that has eluded her and seems poised to give the Danish Princess a run for the money. At 4/1, Victoria is the early favorite to win the Grand Slam in Paris.

If Clijsters is healed to play, she is a good wager at 8/1. Her 2011 record is 21-4 and although she has never won on the red clay, she is two-time finalist and is a proven Grand Slam winner. Kim is the Belgium nobody wants to play.

Last year’s runner-up Samantha Stosur, Vera Zvonareva and Petra Kvitova are all at 10/1 on the early book. Stosur is regarded as a great clay courter but her 15-11 record this season is barely keeping her ranked seventh. Stosur was a heavy favorite to claim her first Grand Slam last year but was unnerved by the aggressive play of Francesca Schiavone.

Vera Zvonareva is the WTA’s third ranked player. Vera has claimed one title this year and is 23-8. She has never gone beyond the quarterfinals in Paris and is not as dominant as last year.

Tenth ranked Petra Kvitova, the left-handed Czech is getting a lot of play. With three WTA titles this tear and a 25-5 record she jumped 8 spots to settle at number ten this week. At 10/1 Petra looks like a prudent choice. The 6-foot power hitter gives no quarter but has little Grand Slam experience.

German Julia Goerges, the WTA’s 20^th ranked player, is a good play at 12/1. Julia upset Wozniacki in the finals at Stuttgart and is playing well on clay. She is 22-10 this season and along with 6 foot Andrea Petkovic (25/1) has put Germany back on the tennis map.

Two-time champion Svetlana Kuznetsova (14/1) is battle-tested and proven winner at Roland Garros. The Russian has won the U.S. Open and French Open and might be able to up her game for this occasion. She is 30/7 in her previous French Open matches.

Last year’s gritty winner, Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, is just 12-10 this season and is barely clinging to her number five ranking. She is a feisty 5’5” competitor and carries a 27/9 French Open Record.

Ana Ivanovic (20/1) is a former Champion at Roland Garros. Yet, since the clay season began, she has dropped 5 places in the rankings. Maria Sharapova has jumped up to number 8 with hard work and determination. Maria comes to play and she has won every major except the French Open. At 25/1, Maria cannot be ruled out.

Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (20/1) is expected to compete at Paris. Her big game is slowed a little by the clay surface but she is 21-8 this year and has one title in the bank.

In summary, Kvitova (10/1) can play on the big stage and is likely to spring some upsets on her way to the French Open Championship. Julia Goerges and Andrea Petkovic have excellent chances to claim the title. Yes, it is a changing of the guard and when the play at Roland Garros has concluded, the WTA rankings will be shifting to more new faces.

French Open 2011 Early Book

4/1 Victoria Azarenka	5/1 Caroline Wozniacki	8/1 Kim Clijsters
10/1 Samantha Stosur	10/1 Vera Zvonareva	10/1 Petra Kvitova
12/1 Julia Goerges	14/1 Jelena Jankovic	14/1 Svetlana Kuznetsova
16/1 Francesca Schiavone	20/1 Ana Ivanovic	20/1 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
25/1 Maria Sharapova	25/1 Venus Williams	25/1 Andrea Petkovic
25/1 Na Li	40/1 Dinara Safina	40/1 Yanina Wickmayer
40/1 Aravane Rezai	40/1 Agnieszka Radwanska	50/1 Alisa Kleybanova
50/1 Kaia Kanepi	50/1 Marion Bartoli	50/1 Flavia Pennetta
50/1 Dominika Cibulkova	66/1 Yaroslava Shvedova	66/1 Nadia Petrova
66/1 Daniela Hantuchova	66/1 Jarmila Gajdosova	66/1 Alexandra Dulgheru
66/1 Bojana Jovanovski	66/1 Maria-Jose Martinez Sanchez	100/1 Shahar Peer
100/1 Tsvetana Pironkova	100/1 Gisela Dulko	100/1 Maria Kirilenko
100/1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands	100/1 Lucie Safarova	100/1 Magdalena Rybarikova
100/1 Shuai Peng	125/1 Simona Halep	150/1 Alize Cornet
150/1 A Medina Garrigues	150/1 Anastasija Sevastova	150/1 Anna Chakvetadze
150/1 Ayumi Morita	150/1 Ekaterina Makarova	150/1 Elena Vesnina
150/1 Irina-Camelia Begu	150/1 Iveta Benesova	150/1 Jie Zheng
150/1 Klara Zakopalova	150/1 Polona Hercog	150/1 Sorana Cirstea
200/1 Agnes Szavay	200/1 Greta Arn	200/1 Monica Niculescu
200/1 Sania Mirza	200/1 Sara Errani	200/1 Shuai Zhang
200/1 Vera Dushevina	200/1 Virginie Razzano	300/1 Akgul Amanmuradova
300/1 Alberta Brianti	300/1 Alla Kudryavtseva	300/1 Alona Bondarenko
300/1 Anastasia Rodionova	300/1 Anastasia Yakimova	300/1 Andrea Hlavackova
300/1 Angelique Kerber	300/1 Anna Tatishvili	300/1 Anne Keothavong
300/1 Arantxa Parra-Santonja	300/1 Arantxa Rus	300/1 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova
300/1 Chanelle Scheepers	300/1 Christina McHale	300/1 Zuzana Ondraskova
300/1 Coco Vandeweghe	300/1 Edina Gallovits	300/1 Elena Baltacha
300/1 Evgeniya Rodina	300/1 Jelena Dokic	300/1 Jill Craybas
300/1 Johanna Larsson	300/1 Junri Namigata	300/1 Kimiko Date-Krumm
300/1 Kirsten Flipkens	300/1 Kristina Barrois	300/1 Ksenia Pervak
300/1 Laura Pous-Tio	300/1 Lourdes Dominguez-Lino	300/1 Lucie Hradecka
300/1 Mathilde Johansson	300/1 Melanie Oudin	300/1 Mirjana Lucic
300/1 Patricia Mayr-Achleitner	300/1 Patty Schnyder	300/1 Pauline Parmentier
300/1 Rebecca Marino	300/1 Renata Voracova	300/1 Roberta Vinci
300/1 Romina Oprandi	300/1 Sandra Zahlavova	300/1 Sofia Arvidsson
300/1 Sybille Bammer	300/1 Tamira Paszek	300/1 Timea Bacsinszky
300/1 Vania King	300/1 Varvara Lepchenko

Tags:

Caroline Wozniacki, French Open 2011, Kim Clijsters, Roland Garros, Samantha Stosur, Victoria Azarenka