Maria Sharapova - French Open Women's Tennis Players

French Open - Day Twelve Maria Sharapova Maria Sharapova has not started her 2009 season well, that old shoulder injury forced her to withdraw from several tournaments. She pulled out of the 2009 Australian Open and has fallen down the WTA rankings. She is still capable of reaching those unbelievable fitness levels through hard work and still poses a threat at French Open this year. Sharapova may well climb a little higher and challenge the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic for the coveted top spot.

She will be particularly hard to beat in Paris as the only grand slam which does not form part of her resume is the French Open - should she be successful at Roland Garros, she will be one of the few women to claim a career grand slam.

History shows that Sharapova has one weak link in her armoury, and that is her inability to win convincingly on clay - of her 18 WTA singles titles not one has been on clay, but her overall record on clay is not that dismal - she has won 32 matches and lost 11. She did make it to the semi finals in Paris in 2007 and she is a much better player today than she has ever been, so anything is possible.

What was so impressive about Sharapova's 2008 Australian Open campaign was her deep concentration, her fitness levels and her fantastic shot selection - she never once looked like she could be beaten, perhaps this is the year when she will finally realise her extraordinary potential.

Apart from her emphatic victory in Australia, Sharapova's 2009 season looks highly unpredictable as she battles with injury while her ranking plummets. These are a few of her noteworthy matches:

Maria Sharapova, sublime French Open Women's Tennis Player, has the skill, the temperament and the will to claim the only tennis major which has eluded her in the past.