Wild Week for the Women at the French Open

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     It has been a memorable first week of tennis at Roland Garros. Paris is a city filled with beauty and elegance that prides itself on its traditions. The second Grand Slam of the year has hardly been traditional by any standards though. For those looking to jump into the action towards the later rounds, you found yourself missing out on what has proved to thus far be a highly entertaining French Open.

     It started with the meltdown in the first round by Serena Williams who was picked by most tennis experts to be left holding the trophy at the end of the tournament. Coming into Paris off of a win in Madrid and a 17-0 clay court record this spring, she was the odds on pick. Prior to this week Williams was 46-0 in first round Grand Slam matches when she was beaten by little known Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3.

     The three-hour match was a tense session that saw Williams in tears on the sideline and also featured the infamous chair umpire Eva Asderaki. Asderaki is well known for her controversial penalty doled out to Williams in the US Open last summer costing her a point and a game to eventual champion Samantha Stosur. Asderaki was involved in another controversial call in this match as well, calling a ball in that Williams had signaled out in the decisive tiebreak during the second set. (Are there really not enough chair umpires that we can't keep these two apart???) Williams did not shy away from making a comment about Asderaki during her post-match press conference, stating:  “She’s not a favorite amongst the tour. I just really had a flashback.” Williams will now unfortunately have a little time on her hands to help her sort through those "flashbacks".

     Former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki was bounced in the third round but not before an angry outburst directed at her chair umpire Poncho Ayala. (Rough week to be sitting up in the chair). During her match against Kaia Kanepi she challenged a shot that she felt had gone past the baseline. The call was upheld which left Wozniacki on the sideline unloading a verbal barrage at Avala. "How can you sit there and be so arrogant? Have you gone to school?" At one point she even asked to see his supervisor. A very uncomfortable looking lady then appeared but the call was still upheld. Kanepi won the match 6-1, 6-7(3-7), 6-3. To Wozniacki's credit the replay on TV showed that she was correct and ironically the French Open is the only Grand Slam that does not utilize Hawk-Eye technology. 

     Current No. 1 Victoria Azarenka did not manage to make it out of the first week either in a tournament that she has struggled with in the past. Her best finish having been in the quarterfinals in 2009 and 2011. She lost 6-2, 7-6(4) to Dominika Cibulkova in a match that was overshadowed by the smashing of her tennis racket on the sidelines during a change over and a press conference that Azarenka would probably like to do over. When asked about how she would move forward from this tournament her reply was dripped with sarcasm.  ''I'm going to kill myself,'' she said. ''This tournament is over for me. What's to recover from? It's (time) to really look forward and improve. That's it.''

    Former champions Ana Ivanovic and Francesca Schiavone also found themselves eliminated leaving an even more wide-open field and Maria Sharapova as the remaining favorite. It is the one Grand Slam title that Sharapova does not own and she came into Paris off of a win in Rome and playing some of her best tennis. She has not been closely challenged during her first week and without the prospect of having to face Williams in the quarterfinals she looks to be a lock headed to the finals. Of course if the first week is an indication of anything, than nothing is a sure thing even in the city of lights.

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