Roland Garros and the French Open have not always been kind to Serena Williams, but her shock first round loss here last year may have been one of the best things that has happened to her. The American crashed out to unfancied Virgine Razzano of France and she stomped off the Philippe Chatrier Centre court in a decided huff having lost for the first time in her career in the first round of a Grand Slam event.
What followed was a run of spectacular form which saw her win Wimbledon and the US Open, to take her Grand Slam haul to 15, as well as Olympic gold in London en route to compiling a 33-1 winning record for the rest of the year. Now in her 31st year and one of the veterans of the WTA Tour, Williams has again been dominant this year, losing three times early on but then winning her four last tournaments going into Paris and compiling a career-best stretch of 24 wins.
In her last tournament in Rome she dropped just 14 games in five matches, despatching world number two Maria Sharapova with disarming ease 6-1, 6-4 in the final. Asked whether she considered her present form to be the best of a professional career dating back to 1995, Williams replied: "I think so. I think so. "Just looking back at a few of my matches years ago and looking now, I definitely feel like I'm getting into that zone that I have always wanted to be in, and I feel a lot better about it."
How that situation came about appears to date back to the strong emotions she felt in 2010 and 2011 when she was all but down and out after missing 11 months with a right foot injury followed by a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. But then the upset loss to Razzano acted as a further warning that if she still wanted to fulfil all her potential, she needed to put in the hard work in training but also learn to relax when she was out on the court. "I have been playing a lot more tennis. I have been spending more time on the court," she said of her strategy in recent months.