It's the French

With her archest rival Serena Williams gone early in the French Open, will Maria Sharapova (seeded 7th) have enough skill and stamina to go the distance in the clay classic? The French tourney, more than other, results in upsets by clay court specialists that rarely win the other majors on the faster surfaces.  Sharapova proved she could win here by doing so.  So, though I'd like to see Maria get  another major, I don't think she's going to this year. 

My dark horse pick is:  Simona Halep. 

Ever since she had her physique-trimming surgery (see below), Halep has been steadily moving up  in the rankings, and she hasn't stopped yet.  She's seeded fourth at Roland Garros.

The smart pick:  Kvitova
The wouldn't-it-be-great pick:  Ivanovic (i.e. a comeback).

I would have picked Radwanska, but she just went out. She's turning into my latest Wozniacki, i.e., often picked, never wins.  Still, I think her game is better suited to grass.

Regarding Halep: if she does make the final, look for several reports on her decision to have breast reduction surgery to be a better player, the apparent fact that it worked, and discussions on the "ethics" of that. Not to mention the damage it did to tennis voyeurism.

French Open, Women's Singles Draw

Regarding the men, I don't really care as much, partly because of Nadal's amazing and status-quo dominance here. But Djokovic is clearly playing well enough to win here this year, too.