As the No. 1-ranked female player in the world, it should come as no surprise that Serena Williams is considered the favorite heading into the French Open. While Serena actually hasn't had a ton of success at Roland Garros over the years, her recent play suggests that a second title is on the horizon.
Serena has been nearly unbeatable this year with a 36-2 record. In fact, both of her losses were the direct result of an injury as she was hobbled by a back injury in an Australian Open loss to Sloane Stephens and was forced to bow out of the Dubai Tennis Championships with the same ailment.
It almost seems like the only person who can beat Serena is Serena herself. She has five titles to her credit this year and has rolled past top contenders such as Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova in recent weeks. No female player is competing at a level that rivals Williams right now.
Clay has never been Serena's best surface, but she has been dominant on it in 2013. Her loss to Virginie Razzano in the first round of last year's French Open may very well have been a turning point in her career. Serena went on an absolute tear after that loss, winning Wimbledon, a gold medal in the Olympics and the U.S. Open.
No player in all of tennis has been as locked in as Serena over the past year, and all it took was a shocking upset to make it happen. Based on the way Serena is playing right now, it's tough to imagine a repeat occurring at Roland Garros. She is too focused and is playing too consistently to let her guard down this time around.
Although Melissa Isaacson of ESPN.com is right when she says that Williams has nothing to prove in the French Open, Serena may very well feel otherwise.
Serena has won only one French Open title and that was way back in 2002. That means she hasn't triumphed at Roland Garros in more than a decade, so she probably has a chip on her shoulder. Serena has multiple victories in every other Grand Slam tournament and would certainly love to pick up another in the French Open.
Williams' game isn't exactly crafted to excel on clay, but there aren't any clay-court specialists who can hurt her. Since Justine Henin won three straight at Roland Garros from 2005 through 2007, there have been five different winners. Williams can overpower the other power players such as Azarenka and Sharapova, and the clay-court players don't have enough weapons.
Unless Williams suffers an injury at some point during the tournament, she is poised to conquer her French Open demons. It's incredibly rare for someone to play their best tennis at the age of 31, but it can certainly be argued that Serena is doing precisely that. It's almost as if she is playing in a different league than her competitors.
There have been times in the past when it seemed impossible for Serena to lose, yet she found a way to falter. That is obviously a present danger, but there seems to be something different about Williams right now. If her recent success is any indication, Serena won't be denied at Roland Garros.
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