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By the time this article is published, the second Grand Slam of the year, the French open at Roland Garros, will have begun. Who will it be?! By this time in two weeks, we will know who it is to be. Before we embark on an exciting fortnight filled with some interesting matches and unexpected results, let's review the lead up fortnight to this Grand Slam tournament which has just taken place.
However, there have been various others who have been forced out of the French Open, citing reasons of injury. Not surprisingly, Steffi Graf, five-time champion at the French, has pulled out due to an ankle injury. It is even doubtful whether Steffi will be back on the WTA tour for much longer. She has reached the end of her tether and is more than likely to retire given a further decline in her physical health (however, her only desire is to play one more Wimbledon and have some strawberries and cream!). Fellow German Anke Huber has withdrawn, American Mary Joe Fernandez has also withdrawn, following an unsuccessful comeback on the tour last month, and Croatian teenager Mirjana Lucic has pulled out because of the chicken pox. Meanwhile, the German Open, a Tier I event, was held a the beginning of last fortnight, with defending champion, Mary Joe Fernandez, unable to defend her title with her wrist injury. And it was FULL OF SURPRISES!!! What a dream run for 18-year-old Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo, who defeated 12th seed Dominique van Roost of Belgium 36 64 75 in the first round, 2nd seed American Lindsay Davenport 62 64 in the third round and 3rd seed Czech Jana Novotna 75 57 64 in the semi-finals; en route to her first appearance in a professional final!!! I'm expecting to see even bigger things from her in the near future. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be anytime in the next fortnight, seeing as she's drawn 13th ranked Russian Anna Kournikova in the first round at the French Open. What a shame!! Whatever the result, neither of them deserve to be out in the first round. Speaking of starlet Anna Kournikova, she captured a little surprise of her own at the German Open with her first professional victory over top-ranked Martina Hingis of Switzerland. In four attempts, Anna could only muster a set at the Australian Open in January this year. And less than two weeks ago, Anna looked as if she was the top-ranked player, breaking Hingis seven! times(!) with a straight set 63 76 (1) defeat. Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, and furthermore, a straight set victory over Hingis is something which Venus Williams hasn't achieved yet!!! What I was more concerned about was Mary Pierce's performance. Well, not so much her performance, but her physical health. Mary was denied a second straight Italian Open the previous week when she was eliminated in the third round by Mirjana Lucic. And one week later, Mary was down and out once again when she retired in the second round against Barbara Paulus of Austria. Mary was slightly trailing at 46 76 (1) 31 before she was unable to continue her campaign, citing a left thigh injury - medically referred to as a pulled quad muscle. And unfortunately, Jennifer Capriati was once again denied a successful tournament. Well, that's a lie. She did have a successful tournament at the Hamburg Open in April, but lately, it hasn't been going too well for her. Jennifer was eliminated in the first round by Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn (the lady who scalped Iva Majoli 60 62 at the Australian Open this year), with a 63 61 loss. And the winner? The winner was...7th seed Spaniard Conchita Martinez, capturing her 28th title and her 1st since Moscow in 1996.
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