Soon to begin at the link found on the RG site as of 1130 CEST.

Hrm.

The unseeded masses being placed now. B)

Nothing special amongst the unseeded opening round match-ups just yet, but I see the elder Radwanska and Krajicek will be facing a seed straightaway. Tricky.

Kirilenko faces Camerin (Strasbourg quarterfinalist this week) right off. Looks daunting for the long-suffering fans of the Russian.

Myskina to make her return? I can't quite believe it. The former champion label always seems such an albatross for her. She's got Shaughnessy.

Jankovic and Henin share the same half. ARGH.

Sharapova and Kuznetsova get the other, then.

Serena and Henin in the same quarter?!? Double ARGH.

WOHHHOOOO Justine will be out in the 1/4s :yahoo:

And this could be Momos greatest chance at a final????

Projected quarters:

Serena v Henin
Jankovic v Vaidisova

Ivanovic v Kuznetsova
Mauresmo v Sharapova

Henin is in a nasty half of the draw!

Jankovic gets Petrova in her quarter, and Kuznetsova gets Ivanovic.

Mauresmo is in Sharapova's quarter, safely insulated from the top-heavy other half of the draw. Surely she'll reach the semis for the first time now? Granville first round.

Kuznetsova gets Peer in the R16. So much for her prospects. :rolleyes:

I would expect Schnyder to beat Sharapova on current form---and actually maybe Momo too

Sharapova gets Schnyder for R16. Bodes ill for her.

Venus and Jankovic in the third round. Ridiculous.

At first look, this is pretty horrendous. The bottom half of the draw seems like a good opportunity for Ivanovic and Mauresmo. The top half will be bloody indeed.

Mauresmo and Safarova rematch in the third round. Maybe not.

Heres my prediction

Serena v Henin
Jankovic v Petrova

Hantuchovav Kuznetsova
Chakvedatze v Schnyder

Venus and Jankovic 3rd round ridiculous? Maybe, but it doesn't have give fans some really tasty matches in the womens' singles. The draw has some fascinating matches in prospect, even during the first week.

And I'll still take Sharapova over Schynder, who has never really convinced me in a slam. Peer v Kuznetsova could be interesting.

Must say I don't think Ana could have got a much nicer draw than that... my mind's racing through all kinds of possibilities so I won't elaborate for fear of cursing her :yikes:

Basically, I feel that the bottom half is pretty user-friendly... it's also quite unlikely to produce the champion. The final quarter especially offers the chance for a surprise semi-finalist, with serial choker Mauresmo and clay court charlie Sharapova projected to meet in the quarters. Chakvetadze to come through perhaps?

Top half, well I'd be very surprised if the much-feted QF between Henin and Serena didn't happen now. An on-form Safina could well give a misfiring Serena problems in the 4th but that's about it. And if Serena does get that far, I'd tip her to beat Henin. Facing them in the semi is likely to be a player who'll give them plenty of problems but ultimately fold (Vaidisova or Jankovic).

Am very interested in how this one turns out.

Some early match-ups that caught my eye:

Bartoli v Rezai (all-French encounter, both women doing well this week)
A Radwanska v Santangelo
Brémond v Krajicek
Sequera v Razzano (the Venezuelan won the Fes title the other week, and these two faced off in the first round there, swapping sets before the Frenchwoman retired)
Morigami v Garbin (Prague titlist against the No 1 Italian, who defeated Henin as defending champion in 2004)
Smashnova v Llagostera Vives (I thought the Israeli had retired--must be a last shout, and she does well on clay after all--and can face the winner of Morigami v Garbin next round)
Kirilenko v Camerin
Ivanovic v Mirza (if the Indian wins her first-round match, not a sure thing against Brianti)
AMG v Hantuchova (third-round possibility)
Myskina v Shaughnessy (winner to face Kuznetsova)
Mauresmo v Safarova (third-round possibility, rematch of AO loss for the Frenchwoman)
Molik v Chakvetadze
Schnyder v K Bondarenko (second-round possibility)
Azarenka v A Bondarenko (Estoril finalist against Warsaw finalist, and winner to face winner of Schnyder v K Bondarenko--the Swiss is a significant obstacle for that all-sister encounter alas--but the A Bondarenko v Schnyder match we were supposed to get in the Istanbul quarters is set)
Dulko v Sharapova (Budapest titlist can be an early threat for the Russian in the third round)

Hmm not my dream draw but there you go.

Tough match for Serena and Justine though, I feel they both deserve to further than the quarters after their superior tennis displays this year.......

At least Venus didn't draw Serena in the third round. :phew:

You know what, I actually have hope that if Venus actually gets the third round she could beat Jankovic!! I really do :)

Is it just me or has Maria been given another cakewalk to the quarters :bs:

I will comeback later with my predictions when I've thought a bit more :D

There is surely no such thing as a cakewalk when it comes to Maria on clay?1?!?

I too feel the Quarter Final match between Serena And Justine comes a little too early, but that's just the way it goes I guess.

Venus Jankovic looks like an exciting probable match too... All good stuff!

Good point ;)

I think Patty will take out Maria in R4. Pity about Justine and Serena. Atleast a Semi showdown would have been great!!

I know TO1, how top heavy is the draw? :o

Well this is how I think the draw will pan out:

Serena vs. Justine
Venus/Jankovic vs. Petrova
Ivanovic vs. Kuznetsova (yes, she beats Peer but loses to Ana!)
Mauresmo vs. Schnyder

I predict Mauresmo to reach her first RG semi!!! :blink:

Ivanovic has a great shot at making the final, or Amelie could surprise, who knows...

The one good thing about Venus being ranked so low is that we always have a great match to look forward to early on :lol:

me thinks the bottom half of the draw winner will turn out to be fairly easy fodder for henin (perhaps serena) in the final :D :D :D

That's one way to look at it. :P

I think Venus can spring the upset--she came very close in Charleston. It's really precisely the kind of match-up I didn't want to see for Jankovic early on, if she's feeling the effects of too much tennis yet.

I'll give my predictions...hopefully they'll turn out to be more accurate than the Australian Open ones! :lol:

1st Eighth

Justine shouldn't have many problems getting through this section. Vesnina is in dire form, and I don't see Paszek or Nakamura threatening her on red clay. Radwanska v Santangelo is an interesting first round match-up, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Aga get through to a third-round match with Justine. I think Bammer will defeat Li before succumbing to the top seed in the fourth round.

2nd Eighth

Much like Justine, Serena should be able to reach the quarters fairly comfortably. A match against Safina in the fourth round would be interesting to see, but considering it's a Grand Slam you'd have to favour Williams to get past that hurdle. The qualifier in Safina's little section would have a good opportunity to get a few wins.

3rd Eighth

Arguably the toughest eighth of the draw. Jankovic v Venus would be intriguing if it materialises, and it's tough to predict; if Jankovic isn't too tired, she should come through, but we all know how Venus can suddenly turn it on. Dementieva has a cakewalk into round 3, where she'll probably play Rezai (Bartoli has been unconvincing lately).

4th Eighth

Nicole has declared herself 100% fit, but she's had no match practice and I think that'll catch up with her here. I reckon she'll make the fourth round (unless Stosur reproduces some of the form we saw in her win over Mauresmo in Rome), and then lose to Petrova, who'll be determined to get a decent Slam result after the AO disappointment.

5th Eighth

Ivanovic says that her ankle is fully healed, so if she manages to play in the same manner as in Berlin then she must be the favourite to come through. Medina Garrigues and Hantuchova are due to square off in round 3; perhaps they'll give a repeat of their 'classic' Rome encounter.

6th Eighth

It's great to see Myskina back after her injury woes, and hopefully she'll acquit herself well against Shaughnessy. Kuznetsova will want to replicate last year's run, but Peer could prove to be tricky in the fourth round, especially since Shahar has already beaten the Russian twice in 2007.

7th Eighth

Amelie has been dealt quite a nice draw, so if she keeps her nerves under control and plays to a good standard, she has a great chance. Chakvetadze isn't the same threat on clay as she is on other surfaces, but with no clay-court experts near her (apart from the slumping Oprandi), I'd expect her to play Mauresmo in round 4.

8th Eighth

Loit could be a dangerous first round opponent for Maria (Serena can testify to that), and Dulko would be a potential banana skin in the third round. However, I think Maria will come through those matches before a clash with Patty.

Predictions:

QFs

[1] Justine Henin def [8] Serena Williams
[4] Jelena Jankovic def [11] Nadia Petrova
[7] Ana Ivanovic def [3] Svetlana Kuznetsova
[14] Patty Schnyder def [5] Amelie Mauresmo

SFs

[1] Justine Henin def [4] Jelena Jankovic
[7] Ana Ivanovic def [14] Patty Schnyder

F

[1] Justine Henin def [7] Ana Ivanovic

[Choosing a finalist from the bottom half is extremely hard; I can't say I'm too confident in my choice, but I won't be too bothered if I'm wrong.]

awww Li is set for a 4th round match up for Henin.
Though, she would be lucky to get that far, with her current poor performance on clay, and given Bammer could be waiting in the third round...

GOOD LUCK LI!!!

Pah, I only got 5/8 quarter-finalists...

I shouldn't really have pick Amelie to have some success in Paris though :lol:

I almost chose Maria to beat Patty, but before the tournament began I wasn't confident, especially after her loss to Rezai. I'm happy to have been proved wrong though!

Nicole's done well to come back from a long lay-off and reach the quarters :ok:

You picked Mauresmo LDF? :wacko: roflmao

I would've actually predicted Dechy taking out Momo in round 2, or Safarova in round 3.

Yeah, I don't know what came over me :wacko: roflmao

Temporary madness LDF roflmao

One word:



VAMOS!!!!!!!!

It is one word roflmao

Care for some more :lol:

sj, your Maria in the final prediction thread will get some serious bumping in a few days I reckon roflmao

Dav, you can bump it for me!

Is it stupid to assume that Maria might make the French Open final?.... NOT ANYMORE! :D

VAMOS!!!!








..... sorry just thought it seemed apt roflmao

^^ dl roflmao

Anyway, I'm off to do some revision ( :rolleyes: )

I may miss the Serena-Justine match because of my exams :angry: