French Open 2013: The Biggest Obstacle for All the Top Seeds at Roland Garros

As the French Open rounds the corner heading for the second week of action, all of the top four seeds on both sides of the draw are still alive as they prepare for fourth-round action.

For Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, the opportunity to win it all still exists. The same can be said for Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska.

Prior to reaching the final, each of the top seeds faces a major obstacle—a stumbling block which may ultimately cause the player to see his or her dream of winning the French Open title in 2013 fall short in the final rounds.

Here's what each player must accomplish to prevail at Roland Garros.

Novak Djokovic: Pressuring the Nadal Backhand and Controlling Points Early.

Novak Djokovic, now 26, reached the No. 1 ranking for the first time in July 2011.

He has won the Australian Open four times—in 2008 and in 2011-2013—Wimbledon once in 2011 and the U.S. Open also in 2011.

Djokovic needs to win the French Open to complete his career Grand Slam. A win in Paris in 2013 would also mean a chance to capture a calendar year Grand Slam, something no man has accomplished since Rod Laver in 1969.

All he must do to accomplish this is knock off the reigning French Open champion, Rafael Nadal, who has won the French Open seven times since 2005. The only interruption in that rule at Stade Roland Garros occurred in 2009 when Nadal was upset in the fourth round by Swede Robin Soderling.

Djokovic faced Nadal in last year’s French Open final, dropping the first two sets. It appeared Nadal would have his way with the world No. 1 when the rains came and Djokovic began to win, taking the third set.

With Nadal growing increasingly disgruntled about the weather, play ceased. The interrupted match was moved to Monday when Nadal came back to win the fourth set, 7-5.

But Djokovic understands, at this point, exactly what it will take to topple the King of Clay—pressuring Nadal’s backhand and seizing early control of points. That means his return game must be spot-on, as well as the Serb’s serve.

This year, instead of the final, the two must meet in the semifinals as No. 1 and No. 3. The winner moves on the French Open final for another year.

Serena Williams: Varying Her Service Placement Throughout the Match

There are not many challenges one can anticipate for world No. 1 Serena Williams, as she makes her way easily through the draw at this year’s French Open.

But she does have one obstacle which could occur even before her final with Maria Sharapova or Victoria Azarenka. Serena sometimes becomes too predictable which is no issue when the player across the net possesses no weapons to counter her power.

But Angelique Kerber has defeated Williams within the past year—one of very few to do so. The German won in Cincinnati, upending Williams, 6-4, 6-4, during the quarterfinals.

Kerber should be aware by now that, when the American serves to the deuce court, most of her first serves are aimed wide to the forehand with the second serve coming up the tee to the backhand.

If the German tries to take advantage of this and prepares herself to return, she could conceivably make life miserable for the No. 1 seed.

Serena needs to make sure her serving pattern is varied enough to keep her opponent from knowing exactly where to stand to return.

Serena, if rushed, does not have unbeatable defensive skills. Often, she tends to go for a difficult shot rather than hanging in the point, waiting for a better shot to come along.

Keeping her opponent guessing on her serve throughout the match alleviates being rushed into committing unforced errors.

Roger Federer: Turning His Backhand into a Vital Offensive Weapon

Many in the media have commented concerning the No. 2 seed Roger Federer’s apparently “easy” draw.

But Federer’s first big test comes into play when the Swiss faces the No. 6 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The Frenchman enters Paris this year fully fit and extremely energized for the challenge of winning this title for himself and for France.

No Frenchman has won the French Open since Yannick Noah accomplished it in 1983—30 years ago. 

Tsonga wishes to be the next Frenchman to scale the wall and bring home the title in front of legions of screaming French patriots.

Of the 12 times they have faced each other, Federer has won 9. Tsonga defeated Federer in Canada in 2009 and in 2011 and at Wimbledon on grass during the 2011 quarterfinals.

They met once on clay in Rome in 2011 with Federer walking away the winner.

But this year, Tsonga is playing his clay-court game with precision and determination. He has his weapons fine-tuned. This is his year, he feels. Tsonga wants this title.

Federer’s main obstacle in this match—and going forward—is making his backhand more of a weapon in his offensive arsenal. Just as the Swiss added the drop shot back in 2008, making it a real weapon—he needs to use his backhand to his advantage, flattening it out and going for more when he’s in a position to do so rather than just slicing the ball back deep. 

It will be another weapon for the Swiss which may help him counter aggressive counter-punchers and win the French Open for a second time.

Maria Sharapova: Keeping Her First-Serve Percentage High

Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka have met each other 12 times with Azarenka winning seven of those contests.

Sharapova, however, won both contests held on clay in Rome and in Stuttgart in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Azarenka is not a proficient mover on court and making her run from side to side can cause errors to crop up in Azarenka’s game. But this advantage only comes when the Russian’s first serve is clicking.

Sharapova’s biggest obstacle in this potential match is her serve. If she cannot make her first serves, it will be a long match because Azarenka will move in quickly and make Sharapova pay dearly for her short second serves. 

With the serve, the No. 2 seed’s dominating groundstrokes follow. But the two go hand in hand.

Although Sharapova’s defensive game has improved significantly, she needs her first serve to dictate the pace of the game on her terms.

Then, Sharapova would find herself in the French Open final again this year, facing Serena Williams—which is another nightmare match for the world No. 2.

Rafael Nadal: Capturing Early Control of Points to Ensure Ultimate Victory

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have played each other 34 times with Nadal winning 19—13 of those victories coming on clay.

If there is a surface which favors Nadal, it is clay—regardless of who he faces.

But, Djokovic presents some problems for the seasoned clay-court veteran.

As Djokovic’s power continues to grow on clay, Nadal’s wanes as he struggles back into form on his susceptible knees.

In Monte Carlo, Djokovic was able to tame Nadal’s game by picking apart his backhand, causing him to commit 28 backhand errors in two sets. Djokovic went on to win that match 6-2, 7-6—stopping the seven-time winner’s march to to win this title for the eighth time.

That means Nadal must protect his backhand against Djokovic’s propensity to hit his backhand down the line, additionally exposing Nadal’s vulnerability in the deuce court.

Basically, Nadal must gain early control of the point in order to beat Djokovic into submission. That will become his major obstacle to overcome in order to win the French Open final against the Serb.

Nadal feels a certain amount of urgency to capture a record eight French Open titles. This will be a tennis record, if he achieves it, that will stand the test of time for decades to come. 

Victoria Azarenka: Improving Her Movement on Court Plus Her First Serve

The French Open has never been a tournament where Victoria Azarenka excelled.

Her furthest advancement has been to the quarterfinals which she achieved last in 2011, losing to Li Na of China, the eventual champion. Previously, she reached the quarterfinals in 2009 where she lost to Russian Dinara Safina.

In 2013, Azarenka hopes to advance to the final at Roland Garros where she will try to seize the championship trophy, just as the other remaining players will also aspire to accomplish.

Right now, sitting in the fourth round, Azarenka has a long way to go before meeting Maria Sharapova in the semifinals.

Clay requires patience and fluid movement around the court, two things which Azarenka often finds lacking in her game—that along with good touch at the net and volleying skills.

Her biggest obstacle, however, is her serve. If she does not get her first serve in, Azarenka is vulnerable to an all-out attack on her second serve from players like Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.

With a high percentage of first serves propelling her offense, Azarenka has a real chance to win this title.

David Ferrer: Leaving His Comfort Zone to Ratchet Up His Offensive Game

David Ferrer has never triumphed over the No. 2 seed Roger Federer in 14 tries. Of the top four seeds, the Swiss is the only one Ferrer has never defeated on the tennis court.

Seeded fourth at this year’s French Open, Ferrer will likely meet Federer in the semifinals, assuming the world No. 3 can get past the talented Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in the quarterfinals.

The fiery Spaniard remains at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to the other top seeds, seldom upsetting them. Therefore, Ferrer rarely wins Masters Series events and never wins Grand Slam titles.

At age 31, the Spaniard does not often marshal his tennis weapons sufficiently enough to overcome the elite four who now rank ahead of him despite his work ethic on court.

Last year, however, Ferrer did take out world No. 4 Andy Murray to reach the semifinals of the 2012 French Open. 

His biggest obstacle in reaching this year’s French Open final is the necessity of becoming more aggressive on court. That includes an improved serve.

Ultimately, Ferrer must move out of his comfort zone and stretch to reach another level of play.

In order to win against the Swiss, the No. 4 seed needs to come out strong in the semifinals, never relenting on offense or defense.

This will be necessary in order to take that next step to reach his first Grand Slam final. In Paris, that means facing either Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic in the final with the same game plan intact.

Agnieszka Radwanska: Improving Her Second-Serve Speed and Placement

Agnieszka Radwanska met Serena Williams in last year’s Wimbledon final where the young Pole managed to take a set off the five-time champion on Centre Court which many feel is Williams’ best surface.

This year, Radwanska’s clay-court results have been nothing to write home about.

Regardless, she has advanced to the fourth round of the French Open where she awaits a match with Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. This should test her clay-court abilities to the maximum. 

In order to defeat Williams, if Radwanska reaches the semifinals, she needs to step up her aggression on court, keeping the ball in play while trying to neutralize the American’s power.

Radwanska's main obstacle is her second serve. It may be her undoing in a match with Williams or any other of the top players.

The issue with her second serve is not so much the speed, but rather the ball’s placement in the serving box. When Radwanska leaves the ball short, it allows the opposition the opportunity to jump all over the return, putting Radwanska on defense too soon in the point.

As a counterpuncher, Radwanska has tremendous defensive weapons, but her serve needs to be her focus in the final rounds at Roland Garros.