Ivanovic and Murray look to shine on Sunday

Ana Ivanovic may be enamoured with Paris, but it will take more than her love of the city and sweet memories of her 2008 success to earn her a second straight title.

The eighth-seeded Serb will open play on Philippe Chatrier court against battling Italian Sara Errani on Sunday – certainly a winnable match for the multi-talented 21-year-old, but no walk in the park. Ivanovic has yet to win a title this year and has been struggling with her confidence.

There are 32 matches on the board for the first Sunday, with some big names on the slate, including British hopeful and world No3 Andy Murray facing Argentine veteran Juan Ignacio Chela on Suzanne Lenglen, No7 seed Gilles Simon of France taking on American lefty Wayne Odesnik on Chatrier as well as appearances by soon-to-retire crowd favourite Marat Safin of Russia, as well as Spain’s “other” left-hander, No8 seed Fernando Verdasco.

Ivanovic in Safina’s quarter
Ivanovic, who was forced to pull out of a WTA Premier event in Madrid two weeks ago, has played only two matches on clay this season, but claims to be fairly healthy. “As a player, I think I’ve changed,” the No8 seed said. “I'm more mature. Comparing my game to last year, it's improved. There are some areas that I’ve added to and I feel really confident on the court. I have a very good opportunity to do well again here, and I love playing here on clay.” Ivanovic is in other main seed in Dinara Safina’s quarter, the woman whom she bested in last year’s final.

Murray meanwhile, who reached the semi-finals in Monte Carlo and Madrid, trained on clay as a junior during his time in Spain but is fully aware that that he will have to be more patient and grind out results if he is to have success on this, the slowest of surfaces.

"I know I have to play well if I want to go deep into the tournament,” said the Scotsman, who finds himself in four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal’s side of the draw. “I can come through matches (on grass and hard courts) when I'm not necessarily playing my best, whereas on clay I have to play tough tennis from the start and play my best to win.”

Two double Slam winners in action
Though two-time Grand Slam champion Safin has not shown his best form this year, the No20 seed should have more than enough take on French wild card Alexandre Sidorenko. Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who also has two majors to his name, will go up against serving demon Ivo Karlovic, while Spanish No14 seed David Ferrer and Croatian hotshot Marin Cilic will also be in action.

French favourite Amélie Mauresmo faces a stern test in her first round match against hard-hitting German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, particularly since the former world No1 and Australian Open and Wimbledon winner has never shone here in Paris at the “home” tournament. Russian veteran Nadia Petrova, who could face former No. 1 Maria Sharapova in the second round, will take on resourceful American teenager Lauren Embree, while Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who stunned 2002 Roland Garros champion Serena Williams in the recent Miami final, will confront Italy's Roberta Vinci. Along with Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, No9 seed Azarenka is considered one of the young dark horses with a shot at winning their first major.

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The 2009 French Open promises to be a mouth watering showdown and there a couple of players who look set to make it into the final rounds of the annual competition. Although it is never a foregone conclusion, it is likely the men’s event will be decided by a battle of epic proportions between the world’s number 1 and 2, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, whereas the ladies event could well be contested between any number of players.

Recently married Roger Federer is taking his clay court campaign extremely seriously and he obviously has every intention of adding the French Open to his long and formidable career resume. Although his old back injury sustained during the 2008 season is still affecting his performance - he withdrew from several tournaments early in 2009 including the Davis Cup tie between Switzerland and USA.

Federer won the first European clay court contest in Estoril, Portugal and even though opponent Nikolay Davydenko retired due to a ligament injury, Federer played with added confidence and intelligence. He went on to Monte Carlo as a wildcard participant, but was defeated in the third round. His 2009 clay court season has not faired well, but he is still the World #2 and is capable of a massive comeback.

Rafael Nadal is on fire – he is going to be the one man to beat in Paris, and odds are that he will claim his fifth consecutive French Open crown. He is supreme on clay, and quite frankly, he has never looked in better condition, both physically and mentally. In preparation for a stunning French Open, Nadal has already taken the titles of major clay court titles - the Monte Carlo Masters and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in 2009.

Novak Djokovic will want to add a second grand slam to his 2008 Australian Open title, he managed to reach the finals of the 2009 Monte Carlo Masters Series but lost to Rafael Nadal. He also made the final round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia having defeated Roger Federer, but lost to Rafael Nadal once again.

Andrew Murray is due for a big one and he has been working hard on his game – perhaps Roland Garros in 2009 will be his watershed moment. His highest ranking of World #3 is quite a historical one for Murray as he will become the first British tennis player to achieve such a high position.

In the ladies competition any of the top ranked players could well end up in the final head-to-head. It will be up to Ana Ivanovic to defend her first ever French Open women's singles title in the 2009 and all eyes will be on the talented young tennis player.

Both Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have come into the 2009 season in fighting form, and both, on the day have the raw talent, skill and supreme fitness levels to claim the crown of the most celebrated clay court contest of the year – the French Open.