The World On My Fingers

The French Open is billed as the most challenging of all the grand slams and the 2009 French Open tennis tournament is sure to adhere to the rigours and robust competitiveness so typical of the second of the annual tennis 'majors'.

Hosted by one of the most romantic cities in the world, Paris, the 2009 French Open will run from May 24th to June 7th and this year's tournament is sure to unleash some of the most riveting grand slam tennis.

Time to reserve your seat on centre court, the famed Court Philippe Chatrier, by purchasing French Open tickets. Thousands more are expected to arrive at the spectacular Roland Garros French Open venue over the two weeks of the competition in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the fabled combatants of clay court tennis.

'King of Clay', Rafael Nadal, etched his name into French Open history after matching the record of the the legendary Bjorn Borg and the 1920's heroine of the Open, Suzanne Lenglen, with four consecutive titles apiece. Justine Henin was not there to defend her title due to her immediate retirement from professional tennis in May 2008. Ana Ivanovic claimed the 2008 women's singles title for the first time, and the world will be watching to see if she can defend her title at Roland Garros in 2009.

Over the years the French Open has epitomised the steel and resolve of the very best in tennis, and the Roland Garros Stadium is a more than apt venue - it is named after the World War I fighter pilot who gave his life for 'King and Country', and his bravery is remembered and celebrated on the dusty, challenging red clay courts every year.

The clay of Roland Garros has also denied some of the finest tennis players the opportunity of realising the most prestigious accolade in world tennis - the sought after, and extremely challenging career grand slam - winning all four grand slam tournaments during their careers.

Roger Federer has found the clay courts in Paris to be his nemesis, and he is in good company - Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors, Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis are just a few of the tennis legends who have been denied by clay.

Yet there are also athletes who thrive on the clay surfaces of Europe, and these players are specialists. They have honed their talents over the years on the surface, and have learnt to use the court to their very best advantage. One only has to think of Carlos Moya, the fabulous Chrissie Evert, the contentious Monica Seles, and of course, the players that myths are made of - Martina Navratilova, Bjorn Borg and Steffi Graf. More recently Justine Henin and 'Raffa' Nadal have donned that mantle.