Australian Open News

A two-week event that is as grueling for the players as it is captivating for the fans, the French Open, historically, is the tournament that vaults tennis into the conversation for the entire summer.

Heather Watson is smiles again as she returns to tennis in time for the French Open and Wimbledon after her recovery from glandular fever.

The Russian completed her set of grand slam crowns at Roland Garros last year, beating Italy's Sara Errani in the final.

While Sam Stosur is likely to again be the sole Australian singles presence in the French Open's second week, the influence of one admired Australian will be felt by all at Roland Garros.

The Dane started 2012 as the top-ranked player but has suffered a slump since then and is now down at 10th in the WTA list.

Center Court analyzes the prospects for the Men's side at the French Open. Greg Garber forecasts the outcomes for favorite Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and the dark horse candidates.

Desmond Kane caught up with Croatia's world number 12 and former Australian Open semi-finalist Marin Cilic to hear how his preparations are coming along ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season.

With the seven-time champion still working his way up the rankings after his long lay-off, the main talking point at men's singles draw was which half Nadal would drop into.

ADELAIDE'S Thanasi Kokkinakis admits it will hurt watching New South Welshman Nick Kyrgios play in the French Open main draw starting on Monday.

Yes, he has been absurdly good since his return. Nobody prophesised such a success return, and in a word his reappearance been made us wonder if he made a secret deal with the tennis Gods.

Betting Slip has been cheering Bayern Munich all the way to the Champions League final and we'll be right behind them on Saturday night.

After spending much of his career chasing Sampras' records , could Federer be trying to emulate his idol in one final way? It's hard to imagine Federer lingering like Lleyton Hewitt , hoping for wild cards long after he can no longer play his way into tournaments.

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Fourth-seeded American Sloane Stephens was a mild quarterfinal upset victim on a rainy Thursday at the $690,000 Brussels Open, a final clay-court French Open tune-up. Eighth-seeded Chinese Peng Shuai ousted the 20-year-old Stephens 6-2, 6-3 at Royal Primerose Tennis Club.

Before Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams get their chance to shine in the main draw at the 2013 French Open in Roland As second-round qualifying action comes to a close, a handful of underdogs are just one win away from joining tennis' top stars in next week's main draw.

After 30 years without a male grand-slam winner, France's tennis establishment is beginning to question whether the absence of success is purely down to a lack of natural-born winners.

Rafael Nadal will attempt to win his eighth French Open title in nine years when he takes the court at Roland this weekend.

This is possibly the most bizarre tennis match I've ever seen. Rewind to the pre-Nadal era and Coria was widely regarded as the top dog on clay - now all he had to do was prove it at Roland Garros.

This look ahead at the Roland Garros women's field mirrors the format used for the men's companion article yesterday.

Whether Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams can live up to their favorite status in the world's preeminent clay-court tournament remains to be seen.