The Roland Garros Grand Slam (May 23-June 6)

By Henry Annan

Henry Annan is a grade 12 student at Halifax West High School, an ambassador of bilinguism for French for the Future and an avid tennis player.


Like all tennis fanatics know, the second Grand Slam of the year is coming up soon.  The Roland Garros tournament, the only Grand Slam played on clay, will be held in Paris.  There are so many great possible scenarios this year, which promises to make for an unforgettable French Open.

On the women’s side, we have the most famous sisters of any sport: the Williams sisters, who now hold the two top spots in the official rankings.  The Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin are still in great shape after their unexpected hiatus.  Clijsters won two titles this year and Henin won one in Stuttgart.  The Russians Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina, and Vera Zvonareva will try their best to win their first Grand Slam in Paris while the Serbians Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic will still be a threat.  Finally, Maria Sharapova will strive to win the only Grand Slam title she is missing at the 2010 French Open.

For the men, the ferocious rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal continues.  If both these players reach the final, that match will undoubtedly be epic.  There is also the Serbian Novak Djokovic who has never won this trophy and the British Andy Murray who will want to prove himself to the world.  TThe darkhorses, like Nikolay Davydenko from Russia, Fernando Verdasco from Spain, and Juan Martin Del Potro from Argentina, are all capable of winning the title.  We should not forget Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils from France who will want to win on their home turf.

My predictions?  Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal will hold the trophy at the end of the tournament.  You can follow all the matches on the official site.