TENNIS in DEPTH.

NOWHERE in the world of women’s tennis is the link between the sport and glamour more evident than at the chic environs of Roland Garros. Ask why Sony Ericsson decided to sponsor the WTA tour to the tune of $88m four years ago and you will probably find more answers at the French Open than anywhere else. A year ago, Ana Ivanovic was the darling of Court Philippe Chatrier, lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen and flashing a victorious smile that graced the covers of magazines around the world.

It matters not that the French title is the only one of the sport’s great prizes yet to be won by Maria Sharapova, who once described her playing style on clay as being like a “cow on ice”. She may never become champion here but she has the requisite panache. In seven years she has never missed the tournament and this week she will take to the court wearing a pair of Tiffany gold earrings and customised blue dress complete with one of the famed jewellers’ pearl fasteners at the neck.

Ivanovic and Sharapova are neither fit enough nor playing well enough to suggest they will contend for the title. The Serbian champion’s defence of her crown was in doubt until a few days ago because of the knee injury that has kept her off court for almost a month. Sharapova, meanwhile, has been absent for more than nine months because of a shoulder injury that needed surgery. She won a couple of matches in Warsaw last week but her aspirations are expected to be even lower than normal this year.

So who will step into the void? Step forward Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki. Both teenagers are relative newcomers to the world’s top 10 but realise it pays not just to play well but also to look good. Both have been likened to Sharapova, particularly Azarenka, who plays each shot with the same characteristic shriek. “Sure, I’m blond, I’m tall, I play tennis and I like clothes and fashion,” says Azarenka. “I’m not just another Maria, but when she was breaking through people called her another Anna Kournikova so I guess that’s the way it is.

“Sure, I’ve already got involved in photo shoots. As long as I can separate it from tennis and it does not hurt my game then I’m happy to continue because I enjoy it.”

Azarenka, born in Belarus 19 years ago but now a resident of Scottsdale, Arizona, is a former world junior No 1. Wozniacki, a year younger and the first Danish player to reach the women’s top 10, won the Wimbledon junior singles title in 2006.

They are seeded ninth and 10th respectively. A couple of months ago Azarenka, or Vika as she likes to be known, overcame Serena Williams to win the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami; a week ago Wozniacki reached the final of the Madrid Open, losing to the world No 1, Dinara Safina.

If the pair possess potential in abundance, they also share a refreshing attitude. Though both are committed to their tennis, they want to enjoy other things in life and certainly don’t subscribe to the cat-fighting that seems so prevalent at the top of the game, such as Serena Williams’ recent attack on Safina’s climb to the summit.

Both have witnessed the hostility of those above them and don’t like it. “I am a very open person, I like to keep in touch with a lot of people and a lot of them are my fellow tennis players,” said Wozniacki. “Vika is one of my really good friends and I don’t see that as a problem. If we play each other we are determined to win but when we leave the court things get back to normal. Isn’t that the way it should be?”

Azarenka agrees. “The guys in the top 10 seem to respect each other and get on well,” she said. “Look at Nadal and Federer, they have such a healthy relationship based on mutual respect. The players at the top of the women’s game should be a little more like them.”

Both players have the opportunity to underline their growing reputations at Roland Garros. Azarenka shares the same quarter of the draw as Ivanovic and Safina, while Wozniacki is in with Jelena Jankovic and Elena Dementieva.

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Defending champion Ana Ivanovic was given a tough workout in her first match of the 2009 French Open.

The Serb prevailed 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 against Sara Errani but not before the Italian had pushed her into a third hour on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Ivanovic, who has struggled since winning this title 12 months ago, failed to make the most of her opportunities in a first set which lasted 72 minutes.

She forced 12 break points but took only two against a less spectacular but more consistent opponent, who converted both of her break chances.

Ivanovic led 3-1 but Errani’s impressive defence helped her level and she then served for the set at 5-4. However, the eighth seed immediately broke back to 15.

Ivanovic missed two set points with Errani serving at 5-6 but she finally claimed the set in the ensuing tie-break.

The reigning champion looked to have broken Errani’s resolve when she raced into a 5-1 lead in the second set.

But the world number 44 refused to lie down and recovered one of the breaks before Ivanovic completed her win with a smash after two hours and two minutes, letting out a shriek of delight in the process.

In what looks to be an open women’s singles draw, Ivanovic, whose preparation has been hindered by a knee problem, will know she will have to improve over the coming days if she is to retain her title.

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Sixth-seeded Vera Zvonareva has withdrawn from the French Open because of an ankle injury.

The Russian injured her ankle chasing a ball last month at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C. She pulled out of the season’s second Grand Slam tournament on Saturday, a day before play begins on the red clay at Roland Garros.

Zvonareva had been scheduled to face Olga Govortsova of Belarus in the first round, but lucky loser Katie O’Brien of Britain will take her spot in the draw.

Zvonareva was chosen to represent Russia in the Fed Cup semifinal series against Italy last month, but she was dropped from the team because of the same injury. The Italians beats the defending champion Russians 4-1.

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Alexandra Dulgheru defeated eight opponents in Warsaw. It is almost as if she would have won a Grand Slam. The Romanian went through qualifying to get to the final, where she defeated Alona Bonarenko 7-6, 3-6, 6-0, for her first WTA title.

Daniela Hantuchova, Dulgheru’s last „victim” was obviously disappointed with her loss to the 201 ranked player but she was full of praise for Alexandra. – Today she played a lot better than her ranking would suggest – commented Daniela. Hantuchova also joked that one of the reasons she was beaten was that her cap was the wrong color. – Maybe I should have worn yellow; I’ve been winning in that one…

Daniel Dobry, the Romanian’s coach was incredibly proud of his protégé: – It’s incredible, the girl did it! Amazing week! How she fought out there! She was great!

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Victoria Azarenka has stormed the top 10 this season at age 19, winning three tournaments, including the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, and defeating the world’s top two players — Dinara Safina and Serena Williams — along the way.

Victoria Azarenka, 19, has climbed to No. 9 in the rankings, but is still working on controlling her emotions on the court.

It has been both impressive and loud, with Azarenka punctuating her ground strokes with Maria Sharapova-like shrieks. And it all might not have worked out nearly so well if Azarenka’s path had not intersected with one of the N.H.L.’s top goaltenders and his family.

It was the summer of 2004, and Nikolai Khabibulin, who had just won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was on vacation in the Belarussian capital, Minsk. He is now with the Chicago Blackhawks who are down 2-1 against Detroit in the Finals of the NHL Western Championships, the winner will go onto play in the Stanley Cup. Khabibulin’s wife, Victoria, was a former junior tennis player from Belarus, and their daughter Sasha was a promising junior herself.

But when Victoria Khabibulin returned one day from the National Tennis Center in Minsk, Nikolai said she was more interested in talking about another talented youngster.

“My wife came back home,” Nikolai remembered. “And she said: ‘There’s this girl, 14 years old, she’s one of the top juniors in the world. Come over if you want to see what it looks like.’ ”

Nikolai came and took the opportunity to hit with Azarenka, and the Khabibulins eventually decided that they not only wanted to follow Azarenka’s career, but they also wanted to help it. They invited her to live with them and train in the United States, providing financing and introducing her to her current coach, the former Portuguese Davis Cup player Antonio van Grichen, shortly after her arrival in August 2005.

“Nik wanted to give me an opportunity, because he knows what it is not to have an opportunity to reach a goal,” Azarenka said. “He just wanted to give me an opportunity and see what I could do with it.”

Azarenka has done plenty this season, using her remarkable two-handed backhand and improved forehand and fitness to compile a 28-5 tournament match record. Although her clay-court results this year do not put her on the shortest list of French Open favorites with Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova, there is no question she belongs on some sort of short list heading into Paris.

She and the Danish 18-year-old Carolina Wozniacki have been the two major movers in the rankings this season, with Azarenka now at No. 9 and Wozniacki at No. 10. The continuing challenge for Azarenka is to manage her emotions. She has long had a volcanic on-court temperament, and at last year’s French Open, she ended up in tears in the midst of a fourth-round loss to Kuznetsova.

“She was not controlling it and not have the path she wanted to during the match,” Van Grichen said. “All that frustration comes out in emotions. Sometimes it comes out in crying and breaking rackets or shouting. But learning from such new situations, like being in the fourth round of the French Open for the first time, is part of life, part of the maturing process.”

Growing up in Minsk, Azarenka had exposure to elite tennis as a ball girl to Belarussian stars like Natasha Zvereva during tournaments. Azarenka’s mother, Alla, worked at the National Tennis Center, but her daughter relied on wealthy benefactors for financial assistance. She often traveled without her parents.

At an early sponsor’s urging, when she was 14 she joined the exodus of East European players to Spain, basing herself in an academy in Marbella.

She did not like conditions there, and returned to Belarus after several months and then left for the United States and a new life with the Khabibulins.

“You could see when she was 14 that she had huge potential and talent,” Victoria Khabibulin said by telephone. “She was striking the ball very nicely, but what really was clear was that she can do anything to win.”

She still has a room at the Khabibulins’ house in Paradise Valley, Ariz., next to the now-16-year-old Sasha, who still dreams of becoming a top tennis player and has played in some low-level professional tournaments.

“She’s a very excited kid,” Azarenka said. “She gets excited about everything, including my results. She’s one of my biggest fans. It’s nice.”

Scheduling conflicts and coincidence have conspired to keep Azarenka from seeing Nikolai Khabibulin play an N.H.L. game in person. “Every time she’s about to come and watch, I get hurt,” he said in an interview from Chicago where his Blackhawks are in a playoff series with the Detroit Red Wings.

But Azarenka has watched her mentor ply his trade many times on television or on her computer, and she consults with him often.

“I think it’s very similar what we do mentally in terms of handling the pressure,” she said. “And talking to Nik really helps.”

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Maria Sharapova played down her hopes of a deep run into the French Open and admitted she’s just happy to be playing again after almost 10 months on the sidelines.

The former world number one played her first competitive singles match here this week since recovering from the shoulder injury which kept her out of the US Open, Olympics and this year’s Australian Open.

“I don’t have any expectations. I don’t think this is the time in my career to have expectations,” said the Russian who made the quarter-finals here before losing to Ukraine’s Alona Bondarenko.

“But I am glad I played. It’s a lot better than being at home and watching other people play and compete. I couldn’t be happier. Obviously it’s always disappointing to lose. You always want to win and come out on top, but it’s been great.”

Bondarenko, who was playing the Russian for the third time having lost twice to Sharapova in 2008, believes the former Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion has lost some of her service power.

“I thought it was going to be a tougher match,” said Bondarenko. “She made a lot of mistakes and she didn’t serve as hard.”

Sharapova, whose ranking has slumped to 126 after her extended lay-off and played here with a small strapping on the right shoulder, hit back, saying that slow clay will always extract some zip from her serve.

“On this surface it’s not easy to get a lot of free points on your serve or on your returns, because the court is much slower,” said the Russian.

“Even though I have an aggressive game, and I try to take control of the court, sometimes you have to be patient.

“You can’t go for outright winners and outright aces. You have to be a little bit smarter. I definitely don’t think that was what hurt me.”

Sharapova, whose best performance at Roland Garros remains a semi-final spot in 2007, now awaits Friday’s French Open draw with anticipation, having finally made it back on court.

“This is the greatest preparation I could have had. I played three matches. I spent about three or four hours on the court in good match situations, and I couldn’t be happier about it.”

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Nadal might have been expecting a few searching questions after his loss to Federer in the final of the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid last Sunday, and was not disappointed. A clay-court defeat for the Spaniard equates to a 7.5 reading on the Richter Scale. Nadal said that he accepted it as a hazard of the job.

It was mentioned that conditions here are appreciably slower and heavier than in the Spanish capital. His eyes twinkled. “In Madrid, you touch the ball, the ball goes out of the racket very fast and very early,” he said. “Here, the feeling is that the ball stays here, you can feel it more. It may be heavier, but for me, it is easier to play.”

Nadal was asked to confirm that he had said that the French Open is the most beautiful tournament in the world. Nadal, mindful of his diplomatic status, interrupted. “No, I never said that, because I like a lot of tournaments,” he said. “But sure, it is one of the nicest.” And one that nobody in their right mind can see anyone else winning.

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When the French Open starts Sunday, Safina will be seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. Now the Russian wants to win her first major title—and she can turn to Big Brother for all-in-the-family Slam advice.

His best words of wisdom? “You just have to enjoy every moment,” Safina said Friday. “Have to live by the day and enjoy every day.”

Not that she always heeds what Safin says, even if he does own U.S. Open and Australian Open championships.

“He can maybe practice 1 1/2 hours a day, and for him, it’s enough. I’m a little bit more stubborn. I need, like, to have maybe four hours on the court,” Safina said. “And he was, like, ‘No, just practice half an hour, and it’s fine for you.”’

The resemblance to her brother is striking, and a smile crossed that familiar face as Safina earned a laugh at his expense. Then her expression turned more serious, and she added: “But, no, now he doesn’t go into the tennis. I think he respects me much more now.”

The 23-year-old Safina and 29-year-old Safin—he is seeded 20th at the French Open—were born into the sport. Their father is the director of a Moscow tennis club, and their mother is a tennis coach who worked with both kids when they were young.

Safina has been known to show tiny flashes of the sort of on-court temper for which her brother is famous, though nothing quite to his extremes. Right now, her game is what’s matching his standards.

Safina comes to Roland Garros on a 10-match winning streak and 14-1 overall this season on clay, all since her April 20 rise to No. 1.

“Since I became No. 1, I’ve been in a final and I won two tournaments,” Safina said, “so I guess I’m feeling pretty good.”

As well she should. For every jab she might hear about whether she deserves to lead the rankings despite not having a major championship on her resume— most notably, Serena Williams recently called herself “the real No. 1”— Safina also earns praise for her recent play.

Just one example: When former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, twice a Grand Slam title winner, was asked Friday about her own chances at this French Open, she noted that women’s tennis recently has been wide open, “except maybe for Safina, who has been on a roll the last couple of weeks on clay.”

There is a general sentiment heading into the tournament that while the men’s event might very well come down to a Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer final for the fourth consecutive year, no one is quite sure what will happen in the women’s draw.

Serena Williams has won the U.S. Open and Australian Open to raise her career count to 10 Grand Slam titles, but she also lost her past four matches and quit her most recent outing because of a bad knee.

Venus Williams is on a two-match losing streak and has never had her greatest success on clay.

Maria Sharapova returned to singles only this week after nearly 10 months away because of right shoulder surgery.

Defending champion Ana Ivanovic’s right knee has been troubling her—she wore black tape on it while practicing Friday—and played only three matches on clay this year.

Those women all have won major titles. Safina, meanwhile, lost to Ivanovic in last year’s French Open final and to Serena Williams in this year’s Australian Open final.

As for those who say Safina is the closest thing to a favorite over the next two weeks?

“I’m not even listening what the people are saying. I’m just focusing on myself, you know? Just taking one day at a time,” she said. “I don’t think about what I want to happen in 14, 15, 16 days, you know. I live today. Today I had a practice. That’s all. Tomorrow is another day.”

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