Tennis: Armada keeps King's diary open

Early June is when Juan Carlos, King of Spain, authorises an optional entry in his diary to take in the final weekend of the French Open, just in case one or more of his subjects is in the running.

He has watched Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Sergei Bruguera, Carlos Moya and Albert Costa hoist the cups at Roland Garros, and his presence could be required again.

Not, alas, for the women of Iberia, whose cause has withered since Arantxa called it a day, but certainly for the armada of males who will be scuffing the ketchup-coloured clay from tonight in pursuit of the first prize of £600,000 ($1.69 million). With 13 men as direct acceptances into the draw, Spain is the leading nation, and it can boast three of the top contenders: Juan Carlos Ferrero, Moya and the defending champion, Costa.

Another armada has hove into sight this year, the clay-hugging Argentinians. So richly has their cause prospered that they filled all four semifinal places at the Masters Series in Hamburg last weekend, and they have claimed nine direct places in the field, with the diminutive but hard-hitting Guillermo Coria their brightest bet for Paris honours.

Andre Agassi and Roger Federer, seeded second and fifth respectively, appear the pair most likely to insert a meaningful oar between these two impressive fleets, and there could hardly be a more disparate couple in the tournament. Agassi is American and 33, Federer Swiss and 21, but both are in rich form.

Last week's announcement that Steffi Graf is expecting their second child scuppered any lingering daydreams that Mr and Mrs Agassi might be entering the mixed doubles, as Andre had promised in the event of winning the Australian Open, which he duly did.

Since then the ageless Las Vegan has added titles in San Jose, Miami and Houston, lifting his total to 58, and he has benefited from a decent draw, with Belgium's Xavier Malisse a possible third-round opponent, the 1996 champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the fourth and then the dangerous, seventh-seeded Coria.

Agassi is short of matches on the clay of Europe this year, but his Houston title was captured on the surface and he remains in robust fettle, deservedly optimistic about adding this year's championship to the one he won in 1999.

Agassi will seriously fancy his chances if he survives the first week, which usually carries away a big name or two. Since his only venture into Europe this season ended in defeat at the Italian Open by a qualifier, Spain's David Ferrer, he will need no reminding to tread carefully.

Federer's year has been even more successful than Agassi's. He goes into Roland Garros having won more matches, 38, than anyone else on the men's tour and has taken three titles: Marseille, Munich and Dubai.

It should have been four but, having reached the Rome final this month, overconfidence struck and he was seen off by lower-deck Spaniard Felix Mantilla.

Federer will be entitled to expect to reach the semifinal of a Grand Slam for the first time. He admits, however, that he fancies his chances more on Wimbledon's grass.

The chances of the top seed, Lleyton Hewitt, have been rubbished by Costa. The defending champion claims Hewitt "is not No 1 on clay because he doesn't have the power".

While it is true that only one of the Australian's 19 titles has been won on clay, Costa may live to regret his dismissal, since the two could meet in the quarter-finals.

Hewitt, who downed Costa on clay in the 2000 Davis Cup final in Barcelona, concedes: "It will be a challenge in Paris, but I have always liked challenges."

Before that, Hewitt may find himself up against the French crowd's overseas favourite, three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten, from Brazil.

Since the last of those victories, in 2001, "Guga's" mobility has been hampered following a hip operation.

He is seeded only 15th, and admits: "It's a new career for me. So if I win again it will be like starting all over."

This is the 20th anniversary of Yannick Noah's annexation of the title. Since then no Frenchman has managed a repeat, and the immediate prospects are not glittering, with Sebastien Grosjean, beset by thigh problems, their best hope, at least until Richard Gasquet, the boy wonder from Beziers, gets more kilometres under his bonnet.

Marat Safin, who (to borrow from Marlon Brando) could have been a contender, has pulled out with a recurrence of wrist trouble, and he is joined on the sidelines by Richard Krajicek (elbow) and Tommy Haas, whose shoulder continues to bother him.

But having caused a sensation by losing last year's final, Ferrero is in the sort of form to go one better. Made a note of that, Your Majesty?

* As for the women, the Open draw placed top seed Serena Williams and elder sister Venus in different halves of the draw, leaving the door open for yet another grand slam final between the two American sisters.

The last four grand slam finals have been between the Williams sisters. Venus was only seeded third this time and could have been drawn in the same half as her younger sister, who beat her in last year's final.

Serena's potential semifinal opponent will be Belgium's Justine Henin-Hardenne while Venus could meet second-seeded Belgian Kim Clijsters.

If Clijsters did perform more evenly it would make it easier to predict that she could be acknowledging the acclaim of the Roland Garros crowd after becoming the first Belgian to win a grand slam singles title.

She has a wonderfully robust game that meets all the demands of 21st century tennis and with Henin, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport is one of a select corps who go into matches against the Williamses unintimidated.

And if Clijsters cannot stop Serena Williams, who is chasing her fifth successive grand slam title (and sixth in all), it is hard to know who can.

Henin may be able to - she has beaten Serena on clay this year - but the rigours of winning through a 128-player draw have always proved too much for the bird-like Belgian.

- INDEPENDENT