Ranking the Tennis Stars with the Most to Prove Before the 2015 French Open
Less than four weeks remain until the start of the French Open, the crown jewel of the clay-court season. But for several of the top stars, there are still many questions to be answered.
This next month will be crucial for players to iron out their games and find their footing before heading to Paris. While Madrid and Rome may be the marquee events on the upcoming calendar, there are also a host of smaller tournaments to be held across Europe.
As the road to Roland Garros heats up, the opportunity for more match play will come as welcome relief to some of the most recognizable names in tennis. Whether they're struggling through slumps or just searching for validation, they all hunger for stability.
And the clock is ticking.
So here is a deeper look at which men and women inside the top 10 have the most to prove before the French Open. The fight for survival at the second Grand Slam of the year begins now.
8. Simona Halep
1 of 8
Simona Halep shows no signs of slowing down.
Named the WTA’s Most Improved Player of the Year in 2013, Halep keeps soaring to new heights, with her recently earned No. 2 ranking a testament to her incredible drive and talent.
Already this season, the Romanian has posted a stout 26-4 record with titles in Shenzhen, Dubai and Indian Wells, the latter her first-ever triumph at a Premier Mandatory event.
So what’s the next step for the 23-year-old? Winning a Grand Slam.
While she may no longer have to prove her place among the game’s elite, Halep is still searching for glory on the biggest stages in tennis. She almost had her moment in last year’s French Open final, falling to Maria Sharapova in a three-set thriller.
The Roland Garros crown will soon be up for grabs again, and no player outside of Serena Williams is more poised to snatch it than Halep.
Halep is a natural on the clay with her consistent ground strokes and relentless defense. Before her run in Paris last year, she made the final in Madrid, where she also lost to Sharapova.
But the tide is turning.
Between those two players, Halep has put together the more impressive results recently, which will boost her confidence if they meet again this clay-court season.
As Halep mounts a charge toward Paris, her performance in the near future could determine whether she’s truly ready to win a major.
Expect her to rise to the challenge.
7. Kei Nishikori
2 of 8
Kei Nishikori is no stranger to winning tournaments.
But after successfully defending his crown last week in Barcelona, the Japanese star has his sights set on something bigger: a maiden Grand Slam title.
He's already come perilously close, reaching the 2014 U.S. Open final. Yet he was overpowered by Marin Cilic in that match and squandered his chance to take home a major.
Expect him to have more chances in the near future, starting with this year's French Open.
Nishikori's game translates well to any surface, even clay. An extremely quick and agile player, Nishikori is strong from both wings and is a deft volleyer. He's not lacking when it comes to variety.
Last year, those skills almost earned Nishikori his first Masters Series title in Madrid. Up a set and a break in the championship match, he had Rafael Nadal on the ropes before a hip injury forced him to retire.
That ailment derailed his French Open preparation, and a hindered Nishikori exited Roland Garros in the first round.
But the world No. 5 is entering this clay-court season healthier and stronger than ever, and he has an opportunity to climb even higher in the rankings.
With other top contenders struggling, Nishikori could emerge as a dark-horse contender in Paris over the next few weeks.
6. Caroline Wozniacki
3 of 8
Caroline Wozniacki put together arguably her best week of the 2015 season in Stuttgart, gritting her way into a clay final for the first time in four years.
Though she fell to Angelique Kerber in a tightly contested championship match, Wozniacki earned impressive wins over Lucie Safarova, Carla Suarez Navarro and Simona Halep during that run.
She's had an up-and-down season overall, as her 20-8 record would attest. Sure, she won a small title in Kuala Lumpur and finished runner-up to Venus Williams in Auckland. But Wozniacki has also lost before the quarterfinals in four of the nine events she's played this year.
That result in Stuttgart could give her much-needed confidence on a surface that has confounded her in the past.
Wozniacki's resume on clay is far from impressive. At the French Open, Madrid and Rome, she's only advanced past the third round of each tournament once in her career. The last time she even made the second week in Paris was 2010.
Though a consistent force from the baseline, Wozniacki lacks the firepower to end points early and attack opponents. On the dirt, her lack of pace gives opponents more time to recover and dictate rallies.
But maybe Stuttgart was a turning point. If the Dane can match that level over the next few weeks, she'll enter the French Open in better form than she has in quite some time.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
5. Andy Murray
4 of 8
Consistency is one opponent Andy Murray hasn't been able to solve in 2015.
With a 21-5 record and a recently earned No. 3 ranking, the Scot is off to a strong season. But in crucial moments, he's too often come up short.
His frequent tormentor, Novak Djokovic, is responsible for three of those losses, denying Murray at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami. Two of those meetings (Australia and Miami) occurred in finals, and each time Murray was bageled in the deciding set.
For a person as competitive as Murray, stomaching such humbling defeats couldn't have been easy. Especially concerning has to be the fact he's physically worn down in the Melbourne and Miami heat.
After several weeks off and his recent marriage, will Murray be ready to rebound from those results?
History is not on his side. Murray has yet to win a single clay-court event in his career or even reach a final on the surface. Though he's a two-time semifinalist (2011 and 2014) at the French Open, the Scot has never put up stellar results on the dirt.
Before the next Masters Series events in Madrid and Rome, however, Murray will play a small tournament in Munich. A golden opportunity exists for him to take home his first title of the season. But even a victory there won't erase doubts about his form.
Before the French Open, Murray still needs to prove he can not only hang with—but defeat—his peers in big matches. If he can't, he'll risk being passed over by other rising stars.
4. Eugenie Bouchard
5 of 8
Besides her opponents’ hands, one thing Eugenie Bouchard hasn’t been able to shake is her own disappointing play.
Following up her breakthrough 2014 season hasn’t been easy for the 21-year-old. She sits at just 6-7 this season, with five consecutive losses between Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston and Fed Cup action.
The players who have taken out Bouchard during that stretch? Lesia Tsurenko, Tatjana Maria, Lauren Davis, Alexandra Dulgheru and Andreea Mitu. She can’t even find her groove against lesser competition.
Bouchard’s results have gone off the rails since her run to the 2014 Wimbledon final. Since then, she’s split with coach Nick Saviano and struggled to balance fame off the court with focus on it. Her last win over a player ranked in the top 30? Way back in September against Caroline Wozniacki in Wuhan.
For someone as talented as Bouchard, it’s difficult to understand what exactly has led to her woes. She’s fitter than ever and still prowls the baseline and attacks shots with her usual vigor. Yet she can’t find consistency with her game.
Whether it’s a tactical issue or a psychological one, Bouchard desperately needs to turn her season around soon.
Because she made the semifinals at the French Open and finished runner-up at Wimbledon last year, Bouchard’s No. 6 ranking hangs in the balance these next two months. If she can’t build momentum in Madrid and Rome, her sophomore slump will only intensify.
3. Roger Federer
6 of 8
Roger Federer has never been all that comfortable on clay.
The surface doesn't accentuate his strengths like grass or hard courts do, with the slower play and higher bounces negating his attacking style. Yet despite that mismatch, Federer turned himself into an accomplished player on the dirt, winning the 2009 French Open and reaching four other finals in Paris.
But has time finally passed him by on the terre battue?
Not since 2012 when he toppled Tomas Berdych on the infamous blue clay in Madrid has Federer won a tournament on the surface. And the last time he lifted a trophy on red dirt? His triumph at Roland Garros in 2009.
As Federer ages, it's tougher for the 33-year-old to consistently hang from the baseline with power hitters. On clay, he can't as effectively come to net and keep points short, which gives other guys time to break down his backhand. That formula surfaced yet again in his recent third-round loss to Gael Monfils in Monte Carlo.
That defeat, one of his most listless in some time, raised more doubts about Federer's ability to win on the surface. But he has a great chance to finally end that clay drought this week.
Federer is the top seed at the inaugural Istanbul Open, with Grigor Dimitrov the second-highest ranked player participating. With a draw short on star players, the Swiss will be the overwhelming favorite to lift the champion's trophy.
And he'll need to build momentum there with Madrid as his only other confirmed event before the French Open.
While Wimbledon will always be his main focus, Federer has plenty of incentive on clay this next month to step up his game and prove he can still be a Grand Slam force.
2. Maria Sharapova
7 of 8
She’s already lost the No. 2 ranking. But will Maria Sharapova halt her skid in time to defend her title in Paris?
Nothing has come easy for Sharapova since her season-opening title in Brisbane and her run to the Australian Open final. She’s just 5-3 over the last three months, with opening-round losses at her last two tournaments (Miami and Stuttgart).
The unlikely trio of Flavia Pennetta, Daria Gavrilova and Angelique Kerber are the players responsible for those defeats, but her body has also been a culprit of late.
Sharapova had to withdraw from the Acapulco semifinals in February because of a stomach virus, and she’s recently dealt with a leg injury that hampered her in Miami and forced her to skip Fed Cup play.
In Stuttgart last week, Sharapova looked healthier and raced to a 6-2, 5-4 lead over Kerber. But then she totally fell apart, dropping the second set and going down 6-1 in the third.
With time running out before the French Open, the Russian will have to quickly regain her form or a crisis of confidence could follow.
Working in Sharapova’s favor will be the impressive resume she’s put together on clay. Once her weakest surface, she’s transformed herself into a dominant force on the dirt, with titles at the French Open (2012 and 2014), Madrid (2014) and Rome (2011-2012) in recent years.
While numerous shoulder injuries have hindered her serving, Sharapova has proved herself a consistent and powerful force from the baseline, especially in Paris. But she’s lost ground to her nemesis Serena Williams in 2015 and won’t be considered the favorite in Roland Garros.
And that’s why Madrid and Rome are vital. If she can build momentum there and showcase the form that carried her at the start of the year, Sharapova will still be a prime contender at the French Open.
1. Rafael Nadal
8 of 8
The King of Clay is more vulnerable than ever these days. But will he be unseated for good in Paris or launch a successful defense of his throne?
For Rafael Nadal, questions are mounting with each loss he takes on clay, a surface that once made him look so invincible. No longer is that the case.
Already in 2015, the Spaniard has suffered three losses on clay—one to Novak Djokovic (Monte Carlo) and two to the volatile Fabio Fognini (Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona). Against Djokovic, Nadal showed flashes of his old brilliance at the start of the match before fading. But he disappeared in Barcelona, suffering a shock third-round loss to his Italian conqueror.
At 19-7, Nadal is off to his poorest start to a season since those ancient days when he roamed courts wearing sleeveless shirts and Capri pants. With his 29th birthday fast approaching, he’s entering a career crossroads.
Age and the lingering effects of frequent injuries have taken a toll on Nadal, and he’s yet to display the form this season that guided him to last year’s French Open crown. Since that victory, Nadal has only one win over a top-10 player (David Ferrer in Monte Carlo) and just one title, which he won at a small event in Buenos Aires. Off the dirt, Nadal has failed to reach the final of any tournament.
His forehand, once feared as one of the most impenetrable shots in the world, hasn’t packed the same punch recently. And he’s even started to express doubts about his confidence.
He’s barely holding on to the No. 4 ranking, and another plunge will further complicate his chances of winning at Roland Garros. Defending 1,600 points between Madrid and Rome, Nadal has plenty on the line. If he doesn’t rebound quickly and go deep at those tournaments, his French Open seeding—and the ease of his draw—will suffer.
Nadal’s pedigree at the French Open (nine titles in 10 tries) gives him the benefit of the doubt. But for how much longer?
With Djokovic biting at his heels, Nadal will have his toughest challenge yet in Paris. Now is a crucial period as he tries to fend off his rival and defend his clay throne one more time.
All statistics are courtesy of ATPWorldTour.com and WTATennis.com unless otherwise noted.
Joe Kennard is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
