By Melinda Samson, Special for Tennis Grandstand

Number six seed Sam Stosur powered past Irina Falconi in straight sets to set up a third round match against Nadia Petrova.

Sam Stosur (REUTERS/Regis Duvignau)

Stosur broke Falconi’s first and second service games to comfortably win the first set 6-1 in 25 minutes. During the second set, both players held serve until Stosur broke in the fifth game, a break that she held to win the set 6-4 in 38 minutes. Although she double faulted on the first match point, and Falconi was able to get a few break point opportunities during the match, Stosur looked powerful and in control.

Update on Aussie action from Round 1: Tomic and Gajdosova through to 2nd Round

It was perfect weather for tennis on the opening Sunday of Roland Garros as Stosur kicked off the first match on Court Philippe Chatrier, serving up a strong performance to beat British No.1 Elena Baltacha 6-4, 6-0.

After taking only an hour to complete the match, Stosur left the court smiling and looking relaxed.

Stosur and her supporters will be hoping the stunning weather continues, which it has so far.

“If it’s not sunny, it plays dead. If it’s sunny, it’s great for Sam,” commented Stosur’s coach David Taylor.

Casey Dellacqua won the first set against 21st seed Italian Sara Errani before losing in three sets. Likewise Anastasia Rodinova lost to French player Mathilde Johannson in a tough three set match.

Despite his will to win and the support of the crowd, Lleyton Hewitt lost in four sets to Slovenian qualifier Blaz Kavcic. Hewitt plays next on grass as a wildcard recipient at Queens.

Matthew Ebden lost his first ever match at Roland Garros in four sets, to German 24th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber.

After the match Ebden took a positive approach on his Facebook page:

“Played a good match today and improved lots of things but couldnt quite get there Phillip served and played very well. Quite disappointed of course but excited with all the improvements I have to make.”

Bernard Tomic had more success, achieving his first ever win at Roland Garros by defeating Austrian qualifier Andreas Haider-Maurer in three sets. Tomic plays Santiago Giraldo in the 2nd round.

Although wild card recipient Ashleigh Barty was beaten by Wimbldeon champion Petra Kvitova in straight sets in less than an hour, the sixteen year old gained a lot from the experience, tweeting:

“Tough day yesterday. Was a great experience to play Petra on such a big occasion! I’ve learnt a lot and can’t wait to play again next here (hopefully ”

Jarmila Gajdosova progressed through the draw after Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova retired in the second set due to a spine injury. Gajdosova plays number nine seed Caroline Wozniaki in the 3rd round.

Follow Tennis Grandstand for updates on all the Australian players’ progress throughout the main draw of the French Open.

Melinda Samson is attending Roland Garros and will be writing updates on Australian players through their trek of the tennis world’s second slam. She also manages the website Grand Slam Gal and is attempting to do the fan version of a tennis grand slam in 2012. Follow her on Twitter for further live updates @GrandSlamGal.

By Romana Cvitkovic

Full roundup of results during day three of the French Open.

“Biggest” Loser: Serena Williams

Serena Williams in first round shock loss at the French open (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Winning two clay court tournaments recently in Madrid and Charleston, Serena Williams was (surprisingly) the heavy favorite to win the title in Roland Garros. But it’s never that simple, right? It what will turn out to be one of the biggest first round upsets in French Open history, the number one American woman lost to Virginia Razzano, ranked 111 in the world, in a rollercoaster of a match, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. Serena was the only American women to lose in the first round of the French Open among ten other American women (save Jamie Hampton who had to retire earlier in the day). Perhaps all the good fortunes Serena’s countrywomen were getting the last two days all funneled into one disappointing loss for Serena herself.

But Serena is not down and out. She suffered life-threatening trials with her health last year and saw her sister Venus diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, but she always seems to find the silver-lining — even if only to keep the media from poking too deep into her emotions.

“It’s life,” Serena said. “Things could be a lot worse. I haven’t had the easiest past six months. Nothing I can’t deal with. I’m not happy, by no means. I just always think things can be worse.”

Nadal, Sharapova, Kvitova yawn their way to victory

Which one of the three above is not like the other? Judging from recent clay court titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome, Rafael Nadal’s 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 dismantling of Simone Bolelli in the first round was not unexpected. Similarly, Maria Sharapova’s recent clay court titles in Stuttgart and Rome were a mere prelude to her 6-0, 6-0 knockout of Alexandra Cadantu today.

Petra Kvitova, however, has had a surplus of ups-and-downs recently. Reaching the semifinals in Stuttgart and the quarterfinals in Rome before sputtering out of both, the reigning Wimbledon champion Kvitova has been difficult to find. That is why a 6-1, 6-2 routing of any player (even her opponent, number 332-ranked Ashleigh Barty) can be considered a temporary success. It’s a confidence booster that she spent not even an hour on court for the win, and it may give her just the kick needed to get her into the second week of the Slam. However, she had similar overpowering starts in the first three rounds of Roland Garros last year before falling in three sets to eventual champion Na Li.

Sam Querrey’s comeback cut short

After struggling with an elbow injury that required surgery last year, Sam Querrey may have a long way back to his career-high ranking of number 17. But today’s loss to world number eight Janko Tipsarevic in four sets, established a good path for his continual growth. Although his first serve percentage was stuck at 49%, he comfortably won 73% of net approaches and only nine total points less the Tipsarevic for the match! At just 24 years of age and standing at 6’6″ tall, it would do him well to look to good friend and fellow tall player John Isner for pointers on keeping your confidence.

Tommy Haas turns back time

After blazing through three rounds of qualifying, German (or is is American, or is is German?) Tommy Haas is firmly in the second round of the main draw after defeating Filippo Volandri, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. The German tennis gods must be watching his back, as he would have next taken on number 16 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov. But due to pure inspiration by Sergiy Stakhovsky to defeat fellow Ukranian Dolgopolov, Haas will next meet Stakhovsky in a match that could surely go the length.

Other notable winners

• Brit Heather Watson sails into the second round by defeating journeywoman Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the second round.
• In a battle of the young guns (can we really still call them that?), Grigor Dimitrov holds off Donald Young, 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-1.
• Caroline Wozniacki is in full stealth mode winning soundly against Eleni Daniilidou, 6-0, 6-1. After falling in the rankings to world number nine, it would do the Dane well to advance well into the second week.
• 2010 Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone made quick work of another tour veteran, Kimiko Date-Krumm, and next faces Tsvetana Prinokova who defeated Yanina Wickmayer.
• Juan Monaco got back on track after a debilitating ankle roll in Monte Carlo, by beating Guillaume Rufin, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(3). In Rome, Monaco was a set up over Djokovic before falling in three, but clay suits his game and if his ankle holds up, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the second week.

Popcorn matches to watch on Wednesday, May 30:

• Gilles Simon ranked number 11 versus new comeback player Brian Baker. Baker has come out of the shadows after a seven year hiatus due to devastating injury and has been blowing past competition, leaving Gael Monfils and Nikolay Davydenko in his rearview. If he can keep it up, it will be a comeback for the books.
• Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Venus Williams. Both ladies are playing with a lot to prove. Aga needs to show fans her consistency and Venus needs to show herself she can continue battling after her health diagnosis. It’s anybody’s game, but I feel a Venus revolution.
• 2008 French Open Ana Ivanovic will take on Shahar Peer in what could be a purely nerves-driven match for both ladies. Ivanovic is always tough on herself and difficult shots by Peer could give Ana some self-doubt. If she plays through them, she should not have a problem plowing through Peer.
• Viktor Troicki takes on possible “frenemy” and personality-twin Fabio Fognini. Who could forget their fiery exchanges on-court during the first round of Cincinnati last year that saw Fognini prevail. The tension was palpable between the two, and another on-court encounter may boost each player’s game plan for an unbelievable match. It will surely be a fun match to watch. Oh, and the tennis should be good too.

By Andrea Lubinsky

American women went undefeated, winning all ten of their matches in the first two days of the French Open. This statistic is impressive on its own. Any country would be thrilled to have ten players in the second round. However, considering that most Americans don’t favor the clay, and add in some pretty big wins from young up and comers, this was a rather surprising turn of events.

Perhaps the biggest upset of the day on the women’s side came in the form of Bethanie Mattek-Sands straight sets victory over 12th seed, Sabine Lisicki. Lisicki has never been the picture of consistency due to various injuries, but either way, this was an excellent win for Mattek-Sands to set up a second round 19 year-old Sloane Stephens, who also had a very impressive performance, beating Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets. Teenager Lauren Davis served up two breadstick sets (6-1, 6-1) against the 30th seed, Mona Barthel, which sets up another American vs American second round as she will face off against Christina McHale. This guarantees the Americans at least two women in the third round, but possibly several more.

Other notable wins came from Melanie Oudin who has been struggling, Vavara Lepchenko, who was down match points against Ksenia Pervak, and Christina McHale who toughed out Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands in three sets. Vania King, Irina Falconi, Alexa Glatch, and Venus Williams rounded out the two day domination, all winning their first round encounters. Interestingly, based on the first set, it looked like Williams could have been the first to falter. Down 6-4 to Paula Ormaechea of Argentina, it looked like Venus may have been half way out the door, but being the veteran that she is, Williams cruised in the second set, winning 6-1, before comfortably closing out the match 6-3 in the third.

Looking ahead, the US ladies won’t have much time to celebrate as several of them will face off against very difficult opponents in the second round. Perhaps one of the most anticipated matches when the draw was released, Venus Williams will compete against No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska for a spot in the third round. Irina Falconi also faces an uphill battle as she will play 2010 finalist and reigning US Open champion, Samantha Stosur in the second round. Unfortunately for the Americans, Oudin, Glatch, Lepchenko, and King will all also face seeded opponents in round two.

If the ladies are aiming to make it a truly perfect first round, Serena Williams and Jamie Hampton will also have to score wins in their matches on Tuesday.

By Melissa Boyd

The WTA Season is off to a flying start and rarely has there been this much anticipation for the women’s event at a Grand Slam heading into Roland-Garros. The draw if filled with storylines that will keep fans enthralled for the entire two-week fortnight.

Serena Williams, who is undefeated on clay this year with two titles, comes to Paris as the favourite, but the American will have to conquer a few French Open demons if she wants to win her first Roland-Garros title since 2002 and first Grand Slam crown since 2010. Williams will have to prove she can win seven matches in the ever-changing conditions on the clay courts in Paris, but she certainly has put herself in prime position to accomplish the feat.

Serena Williams & Maria Sharapova could meet in the quarters in Paris

Then there is Maria Sharapova, the former self-described “cow on ice”, has been the second best clay court player this season on the strength of her two titles in Stuttgart and Rome. Many felt like this was the Russian’s best chance to complete her coveted  career Grand Slam, unless Williams, whom she has not beat in eight years, fell in her section of the draw and that’s exactly what happened. The much hoped for Sharapova-Williams final will instead potentially happen in the quarter-finals. Sharapova winning Roland-Garros would be some story, but she’ll have to navigate a tough draw to do it.

It’s hard to believe that World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka has been labeled the tournament’s third favourite, but an underwhelming clay court season that featured uncharacteristic losses and an injury withdrawal have people wondering whether Azarenka can repeat her stellar run in Australia. Not to mention that 2010 finalist Samantha Stosur, Brussels champion Agnieszka Radwanska, Venus Williams as well as a pair of former French Open champions, Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova are in her section of the draw.

Other names to watch out for include last year’s finalists. Defending champion Na Li could be stiff competition for Sharapova or Williams in the semifinals and while everyone was writing off Francesca Schiavone, she went and won her final tune up event in Strasbourg. Mona Barthel and Angelique Kerber are prime candidates to cause havoc in the women’s draw at Roland-Garros.

While many are already dusting off the French Open trophy to give it to Serena Williams, tournament tradition on the women’s side in recent years would lean more towards someone making a Cinderella run to the title with the odds stacked against them. The Parisian fortnight will dictate which of these two familiar story lines will characterize the second Grand Slam of the tennis season.

By Melinda Samson, Special for Tennis Grandstand

With three men and five women hailing from Australia in the main draw of the 2012 French Open, here’s a full recap of their form from Roland Garros in 2011 and the Australian Open in January.

Sam Stosur

Having made it to the French Open final in 2010, Sam will be aiming to better last year’s third round loss. Coming in to the Australian Open in January off her US Open victory, Sam made an early exit in the first round.

Stosur plays Baltacha in the first round and potentially faces in Petrova in the third round.

Read more about Sam’s highs and lows since the USO.

Lleyton Hewitt

Having recovered from his February foot surgery former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt received a wildcard entry into the French Open, which he missed in 2011 due to injury.

Aussie tennis players Bernard Tomic (L) and Lleyton Hewitt

Hewitt made it through to round 4 of the Australian Open, eventually losing to Djokovic, who he potentially faces in Round 2 at Roland Garros.

Hewitt plays Kavcic in round 1.

Bernard Tomic

Tomic has played at Roland Garros twice, losing in the first round both times.

He showed great form at the Australian Open, beating Verdasco in an epic first round five set match and following up the win by beating Sam Querry and Alexandr Dolgopolov before losing to Roger Federer in the fourth round.

Tomic plays Haider-Maurer in round 1.

Jarmila Gajdosova

This will be Gajdosova’s seventh appearance at Roland Garros. Her best result was making it through to the fourth round in 2010. Gajdosova lost in the first round of this year’s Australian Open.

Gajdosova plays Rybarikova in round 1.

Casey Dellacqua

Dellacqua is well loved since her run to the fourth round of the 2008 Australian Open, beating Patty Schnyder and Amelie Mauresmo along the way. This January she lost in the second round to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka.

2012 will be Dellacqua’s fourth appearance at Roland Garros, where she lost in the first round last year.

Dellacqua plays Errani in round 1.

Anastasia Rodionova

2012 is the sixth time that Rodionova will play at Roland Garros, having made it to the third round in 2010 and 2011. She lost in the first round of this year’s Australian Open.

Rodionova plays Johannson in round 1.

Ashleigh Barty

Wimbledon junior champion Barty received a wildcard entry into the Roland Garros main draw, to follow up her first grand slam appearance at the Australian Open in January, when she lost in the first round.

Barty faces a tough first round match against Kvitova.

Matt Edben

This is the first time Edben has played at Roland Garros.

During the Australian Open he won two sets off Kei Nishikori before eventually losing the second round match in five sets.

Ebden plays Kohlschreiber in round 1.

Several Australians played in the qualifying rounds, including Marinko Matosevic and Greg Jones but none were successful in making it through to the main draw.

Follow Tennis Grandstand for updates on all the Australian players’ progress throughout the main draw of the French Open.

Melinda Samson is attending Roland Garros and will be writing updates on Australian players through their trek of the tennis world’s second slam. She also manages the website Grand Slam Gal and is attempting to do the fan version of a tennis grand slam in 2012. Follow her on Twitter for further live updates @GrandSlamGal.

By Romana Cvitkovic

Italian tennis player Francesca Schiavone has a lot to celebrate after winning the Internationaux de Strasbourg over French wildcard Alize Cornet, 6-4, 6-4. It had been two years since Schiavone’s last title at the 2010 French Open and her first final since last year’s French Open.

Going in to today’s final, the expected winner was Schiavone as she had won the last six meetings against Cornet, but the French player’s recent resurgence in Stuttgart and making the finals here in Strasbourg proved the final would be a battle. Both players earned the much-needed boost in their careers this week.

“In this tournament, in the most important moments, I was there. It has been a long time since I’ve felt that,” Schiavone said after the final. “It’s a great feeling and I want to keep going this way. I’m happy again. I’m feeling the sensation of fighting and feeling the pain, and really enjoying my game again.”

Although Cornet’s sole title came in Budapest in 2008, she expressed a similar feeling about her recent good run. ”Right now I’m disappointed, but Francesca was playing well the whole week, not even losing a set. And my tennis is improving and coming back again. It was only positives for me this week, and now I hope I can recover and have a good tournament at Roland Garros.”

Schiavone will be seeded 14 at the French Open, which starts in Paris on Sunday, and meets Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in the first round. Cornet will play number 31 seed Jie Zheng of China.

Tennis Grandstand photographer Rick Gleijm was in Strasbourg, France all week covering the tournament live. Check out his gallery from the singles final and post-match trophy ceremony below.

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By Melinda Samson, Special for Tennis Grandstand

Sam Stosur had quite a year in 2011 by acheiving a career-high singles ranking of four in February and defeating Serena Williams to win the US Open in September. Since then, Stosur has struggled reaching only one semifinal and two finals since her maiden slam title. Does she have it in her to mount a surprise run at this year’s French Open?

Stosur’s maiden Grand Slam title was a massive achievement, making her the first Australian woman to win the US Open final since Margaret Court Smith in 1973, and the first Australian woman to win a Grand Slam final since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980.

And it wasn’t a straightforward ride to victory. Stosur proved her strength and stamina by defeating Nadia Petrova in a third round match that turned out to be the longest ever US Open women’s match in the open era, lasting 3 hours and 16 minutes.

Then, during the final, Stosur calmly played on after Serena’s rant against the chair umpire, un-rattled by the incident that later cost Serena a $2000 fine.

There’s something special about Sam

Sam Stosur (REUTERS/Thomas Peter)

As well as being an elite tennis player and Grand Slam champion, Stosur is also a great Australian. She is supremely fit, works incredibly hard, is tanned, smiley, humble and let’s face it, she can pull off cool sunnies on court like not many other players can.

Scott Draper, Manager of Developmental Tennis for Tennis Australia, who partnered with Stosur to win the 2005 Australian Open Mixed Doubles final, summed up what makes Sam’s style of play special:

“Sam works extremely hard and is physically strong, which gives her an incredible advantage in being able to overpower her counterparts.

Sam’s point of difference is that she’s not the typical female tennis player. She has angular swings, a heavy forehand, one of the best serves in the women’s game and she can slice. This style of play takes her opponents out of their comfort zone and away from what they typically see.”

An early loss at the 2012 Australian Open

A great Australian trait is that we love sport and we love an Aussie winner. So when Stosur played in Australia this January, the burden of expectation from the home crowd was enormous, and ultimately proved to be too big for Stosur to bear.

Playing in Australia was Stosur’s kryptonite. What should have been her home ground advantage turned into a bonus for her opponents.

A second round loss at the Brisbane International was followed by first round losses at the APIA International inSydneyand the Australian Open in Melbourne.

After the Australian Open loss Stosur said on her blog:

“There’s nothing probably more than my expectation. I really, really wanted to do well here and over the summer…… I did everything I could to try and give myself a good opportunity. It obviously didn’t happen.”

Stosur’s results since the Australian Open

Then February came, WTA tennis moved to other parts of the world and the kryptonite of the Australian public’s expectations lost its power.

Stosur played Fed Cup for Australia against Switzerland where two wins boosted her confidence. After the wins, Stosur said on her blog:

“You want to win as many matches as possible to erase anything negative and it does not matter the opposition, it is always good to win.”

Here’s a summary of Stosur’s singles results since the Australian Open:

• Qatar: reached the final of the WTA Qatar Total Open and was defeated by Victoria Azarenka
• Dubai: made it to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and was defeated by Jelena Jankovic
• Indian Wells: defeated by Nadia Petrova in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open
• Miami: defeated by Serena Williams in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open
• Charleston: made the semi final of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston and was defeated by Serena Williams
• Stuttgart: made the quarter finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and was defeated by Maria Sharapova
• Madrid: made the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open and was defeated by Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka
• Rome: was defeated by Venus Williams in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Next up, the French Open

The French Open starts on Sunday, May 27th. It will be two slams after the highest of Stosur’s highs and one slam after what is probably amongst the lowest of her lows.

We know Stosur can play incredible tennis and after making the French Open final in 2010 we’ve seen what she is capable of at Roland Garros.

Stosur recently displayed her clay “A” game with two cracker Fed Cup wins against Germany in Stuttgart in April, helping Australia get back into the 2013 World Group.

I have high hopes for Stosur at the French Open, while at the same time I’m doing my best not to have expectations! She is seeded sixth and will play her first round match against Elena Baltacha. If Sam progresses through the draw she will potentially play her Round 3 match against Nadia Petrova, Round 4 against Sabine Lisicki and quarter final versus world No.1 Victoria Azarenka.

Follow Tennis Grandstand for updates on Sam Stosur’s progress, as well as other Australian players in the main draw, all throughout the French Open.

Melinda Samson is attending Roland Garros and will be writing updates on Australian players through their trek of the tennis world’s second slam. She also manages the website Grand Slam Gal and is attempting to do the fan version of a tennis grand slam in 2012. Follow her on Twitter for further live updates @GrandSlamGal.

By Romana Cvitkovic

Do you live and breath tennis, or just have a fondness for Scot tennis player Andy Murray? Now is your chance to win a pair of adidas Barricade shoes signed my your favorite tennis player and world number four.

In honor of the start of Roland Garros on Sunday and Murray’s first round encounter next week, Tennis Grandstand has once again teamed up with adidas for a fan giveaway, this time featuring Andy Murray. Send your good luck wishes for Roland Garros to the Scot and try and win a pair of signed Barricades.

All you have to do is tell us in the comments below your favorite Murray memory. It could be any moment you witnessed in person or on the television, and we will choose a winner at random.

The contest is open now and will run until Thursday, May 31 at 7PM EST. Kindly remember to provide a contact email address with your comment as we will notify the winner by email.

By Romana Cvitkovic

Tennis Grandstand photographer Rick Gleijm is in Strasbourg, France covering the WTA Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament live all week. The singles and doubles finals are set and will feature Italian Francesca Schiavone against Alize Cornet, and the number 1 doubles seed of Nicole Grandin and Vladimira Uhlirova taking on number two seed Olga Govortsova and Klaudia Jans-Ignacik.

RESULTS – FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012
Singles
[W] Alize Cornet d. Pauline Parmentier 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
[2] Francesca Schiavone d. Sloane Stephens 7-5, 6-1

Doubles
[1] Nicole Grandin/Vladimira Uhlirova d [4] Timea Babos/Su-Wei Hsieh 0-6, 6-2, 12-10

Check back tomorrow for finals coverage direct from center court by our photographer Rick Gleijm! Scroll down for today’s full gallery of over 70 photos.

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By Melinda Samson, Special for Tennis Grandstand

To win the tennis grand slam a player needs strength, skill, stamina, smarts and staying power. They also need to play exceptional tennis on all tennis court surfaces; hard court, clay and grass.

The varying surfaces are something that I love about tennis. After all, what other professional sports men and women need to adjust to their game to three different surfaces during the same year?

Scott Draper in 2005 during his last year on the ATP Tour (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

To find out what it takes to win on all surfaces, I interviewed former Australian ATP tennis player Scott Draper. Scott won the Wimbledon Junior Doubles title in 1992, Queens Club Championship in 1998 and partnered with Sam Stosur to win the Australian Open Mixed Doubles title in 2005. He reached a career high ranking of 42 in 1998 and now looks after player development for Under 16s for Tennis Australia, managing five tennis academies throughout Australia.

After hearing what Scott had to say, I have even more respect for the sport of tennis and the players. I know a lot of tennis fans have a huge knowledge of the technicalities of the game but not being one of them, I learned a lot from Scott’s answers during the interview.

What changes have you seen to the way grand slam tournaments are played?

The game has become faster as player skills, flexibility and movement have improved. And the impact of changes in racquet strings, balls and equipment over the past 20 years has been extraordinary.

Tennis has become a game of physical warfare. Players still have many different games styles but now it’s possible to completely overpower your opponent, which I think that has taken away some of the flair of the game.

What are the main differences between the grand slam tennis court surfaces?

Although each surface is different in terms of speed and height of the bounce of the ball, the aim is for all surfaces to be set up to be fair and equitable for all types of players.

Generally for the courts:
• Clay courts are slower, have higher bounce and more spin
• Hard courts are typically medium speed with true bounce
• Grass courts are fast with lower bounce.

Here are some of the specifics of courts at the slams.

1. Clay Courts at Roland Garros

The speed of play on the clay at Roland Garros is weather dependent; the courts can be fast on a hot day but when it’s rainy the balls are heavier and courts are slow. A slower court means serves don’t have as much impact, drop shots die and the player needs to be able to do a lot more with the ball.

As the balls and courts are slower, players can get to more balls, which means it takes more shots to win a point.

2. Grass Courts at Wimbledon

The grass at Wimbledon is a softer surface than clay, meaning balls bounce lower. Grass is renowned for typically being the fastest surface.

In the late 90s Wimbledon courts were very fast but now the balls and grass are slower than they were, so points are longer, which means baseline players are doing well more often.

It’s also important to note though that there is a big difference between the courts at Wimbledon. The newer courts are harder and faster. I once played on the newer courts and served 33 aces… my next match was on the older courts, and couldn’t get nearly the same purchase of the court – hence, I didn’t serve as many aces.

The players know that the courts are different and experience really counts; once you’ve played there you know how to rethink your game depending which court you’ll be playing on.

3. Hard Courts at the US Open and Australian Open

On the hard courts at the US Open the ball bounces higher and the court is quicker. The courts at the Australian Open are fairly slow in comparison to the US Open.

What does it take for a player to adjust to the different surfaces as the tennis year progresses, particularly from hard court to clay?

As a kid growing up you want to develop a game that has the ability to work on all surfaces. To be successful you need to be a great athlete, a great mover and a great competitor.

Players should also become a student of the game, learn how to understand your opponent, the different court surfaces and your own strengths and weaknesses. And you’ve got to love the battle!

Once you get to the tour you can continue to improve but it’s hard to reinvent the wheel and make major changes to your game.

For the grand slams, it’s all about getting your body and game style ready in the lead up to the events. Figure out how long you have to get ready and what the priorities are.

From a physical perspective for example, points are longer at the French Open so you might increase your cardio training. The transition from French Open to Wimbledon is really quick, so you could adjust your movement patterns to allow for the balls bouncing lower.

How difficult is it to adjust to the different grand slam tournaments?

To be a great grand slam player you need to be smart, well organised and plan the transition. And experience is massive!

Tennis is an extraordinarily hard game because there is so much complexity to it and your opponent has so much to do with the final result. You can do everything correctly but if you’re playing someone who is playing their 10 out of 10 game, for most players you just can’t match them if you’re playing your 8 out of 10 game.

If you’re not ready in body and mind then it’s hard to expect the best from yourself.

All that aside, when it comes down to it adjusting to the different slams is part of what tennis players need to know how to do.

Prepare as much as you can but once you’re there, let the preparation pay off and just do what you need to do.

How much impact do other factors have on a player’s ability to play well at grand slam tournaments?

Your shoes are really important. For hard courts you have a swivel on the sole, clay court shoes have a herringbone for more grip and grass court shoes have dimples.

Each tournament also has a different feel and that can impact on a player’s success.

The Australian Open is really relaxed and you can get back to your hotel in about 10 minutes. Wimbledon has a different feel again because everyone stays at Wimbledon village in houses. And although being in for Paris Roland Garros is really full on, the US Open can be a mad house by comparison; it can take either 20 minutes or 1.5 hours to get to the courts.

Plus at the slams there is a lot of commotion going on around you and that can be distracting, especially if you’re new to it. Roger Federer makes it look so easy but for up and coming players, if you want to win, the best approach is get in, do your work and then get out.

When you’re not one of the top players, lets face it, you lose a lot of matches during the year, so resilience is a huge factor and it’s easy to fall flat if you don’t have the right people around you.

Melinda Samson is attending Roland Garros and will be writing updates on Australian players through their trek of the tennis world’s second slam. She also manages the website Grand Slam Gal and is attempting to do the fan version of a tennis grand slam in 2012. Follow her on Twitter for further live updates @GrandSlamGal.