Former world No.1 Justine Henin believes Simona Halep will be the player to beat in the women’s draw at the French Open later this month.
The 36-year-old has spoken in favour of the Romanian by saying she is the ‘most complete player’ when it comes to playing on the clay. Last year in Roland Garros Halep won her maiden grand slam title at the age of 26. However, since then she has only won one more title at the Canadian Open. Halep has also failed to reach the quarter-finals at her past three grand slam tournaments.
“It is going to be a very interesting tournament. I think Simona Halep is going to be the favourite. I like her game, I like how she plays on clay because on clay you need to be a complete player, both physically and mentally,” the Indo-Asian News Service quoted Henin as saying.
“Every grand slam, you get one or two surprises. So, I am expecting that also to happen,” she added.
Halep’s win-loss record for this season currently stands at 18-6 with her best run being to the final in Doha. Her preparation for the European clay-court season has been hit with a blip. Last week she withdrew from the Stuttgart Open due to a hip injury. However, she is confident that she will be fit for next week’s Madrid Open.
Should Halep defend her title at the French Open, she would become only the fourth woman to do so since 1990. Following in the footsteps of Monica Seles, Steffi Graf and Henin. Henin was undefeated in the tournament between 2005-2007.
“Roland Garros is in my heart, it’s in my body. Whenever I go there, even now I feel there is something for me. It’s connected to my history. My first connection towards tennis has been at the Roland Garros. I feel at home there. Roland Garros would be tough for me to miss.” The Belgian reflected.
Whilst Henin backs Halep for glory in Paris, it will be a far from simple process. Five months into the year and Petra Kvitova is the only player to have won multiple titles on the WTA title. The Czech will be one of a series of contenders challenging for the title.
Kvitova’s chances have been back by Martina Navratilova, who wrote about the Czech in her latest column for wtatennis.com. The world No.2 has only reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros once before, which was back in 2012.
“She is a threat on any surface, and could even win Roland Garros for the first time this year, though much will depend on the speed of the playing conditions in Paris, which can vary quite a bit. When Petra is on, she can beat anybody.” Navratilova wrote.
The French Open will get underway on May 26th.
How did the current top 10 women fair at the French Open in 2018?
- N. Osaka – R3
- P. Kvitová – R3
- S. Halep – Champion
- A. Kerber – QF
- K. Plíšková – R3
- E. Svitolina – R3
- K. Bertens – R3
- S. Stephens- Runner-up
- A. Barty – R2
- A. Sabalenka – R1
Note: rankings based on week commencing 29th April 2019
