The clay season is rolling toward Roland Garros, with the Rome Premier 5 event serving as the final big lead-in to the French Open in late May. There will be no Serena Williams or Victoria Azarenka or Petra Kvitova at the tournament in Paris, which means a lot of players have an opportunity to do something special in France. Which players are already demonstrating the level of clay-court form which will make them high-level contenders when they play the second Grand Slam tournament of 2017?
Simona Halep
The Halep magic in Madrid is still alive. Halep struggled with Roberta Vinci early in the tournament and was down 5-2 in the third set. She won that match in a tiebreaker and did not look back. She steadily made her way through the field and defended her Madrid title. She is certainly making the kinds of statements which identify a major champion, which she is trying to become for the first time. Halep mounted the first successful title defense of her career in Madrid, which shows her that she can repeatedly achieve good things and back up her results. If she grows in terms of her attitude and her approach to big matches, she can take the next step in Paris. This was an encouraging week for her in Spain.
Kristina Mladenovic
The player who lost to Halep in a thrilling three-set final is going to bear the expectations of the French people. Kiki Mladenovic uses a varied arsenal of shots and a light, feathery touch to keep opponents off balance. Her use of the drop shot is a natural fit with red clay, and the other parts of her game seem to be rounding into shape as well. Mladenovic made the final in Stuttgart before making the final in Madrid, so she is certainly establishing quality consistency in the WTA and is getting a little more used to playing a full week (which is what happens for anyone who wins a bunch of matches at the same tournament). If any player can benefit from the home crowd at Roland Garros, it will be Kiki.
Svetlana Kuznetsova
The Russian continues to be a very solid player – not spectacular, but highly capable of going deep into a tournament and giving herself a chance to do something special. Kuznetsova made the final of Indian Wells. Then she made the semifinals of Madrid before losing a very tight match to Mladenovic. Kuznetsova hits heavy topspin shots… and every other shot in the book. She can manipulate pace and angle, and can work with the spins the surface requires. She won the French Open in 2009, and if she played for the 2017 championship, not too many people would be surprised, given the absence of Serena, Azarenka, and Kvitova, not to mention the struggles of Angelique Kerber and others.
Eugenie Bouchard
The Canadian sweetheart has had a long road to recovery. She was once a Top 10 player and was considered to be someone who could challenge for titles in Grand Slams. In 2014, she made it to the semfinals or further in three Grand Slams. Since then, she’s had a significant fall – including her literal fall at the U.S. Open. That legal battle has been in the news this week.
But Bouchard looks to have some momentum as we approach the French Open. It’s not her best Grand Slam – she hasn’t made it past the second round in three of her four appearances there – but there is reason for optimism. She showed particularly well at the Madrid Open. Of course, everyone will remember her big win over Maria Sharapova. She trash-talked her, then showed up in a big way to beat her in three sets. But she also beat No. 1 seed Angelique Kerber in the Round of 16 at the Madrid Open before losing to Kuznetsova. Kuznetsova is another player who is on this list, so that’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Bouchard has had a lot of first-round exits this year but she’s playing her best ball right now. With so many big names out of the 2017 French Open, Bouchard could possibly make a run.
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