Does Schiavone Have One More Paris Run in Her?

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Does Schiavone Have One More Paris Run in Her?

By Chris Oddo

Francesca Schiavone with French Open trophy

(May 1, 2013) -- We know that Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams are the heavy favorites to win the French Open this spring.

We know that a cast of players ranging from Victoria Azarenka to Sara Errani to Agnieszka Radwanska are all ready to make some noise should the two top dogs falter.

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But further down the rankings is a downtrodden but not yet demoralized dirt demon who could also play a role this spring. Sure, not many people give former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone a shot to return to prominence at Roland Garros. Maybe nobody does. She's been a adrift for a long time now, finding it hard to win matches let alone tournaments, and her miraculous French Open run--the first Grand Slam title for any Italian--in 2010 seems like it was 30 years ago not three.

But after Francesca Schiavone's picked up her sixth career title in Marrakech last week, Schiavone's chances look a little bit better. Do they look great? No. But in winning her first title since 2012, and only second since the 2010 French Open, Schiavone displayed some of the winning form that made her such a sensation in Roland Garros in 2010 and 2011.

"To win here is a great start to the clay court season for me and inspires me to keep working hard," Schiavone said last week in Marrakech, after winning five matches without dropping a single set.

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It's great to hear that the Italian is feeling inspired, because everything about Schiavone's recent form--until last week, that is--has been a bit depressing for the 32-year-old. She's 1-8 versus top ten competition, and 3-11 versus the top 20, since the start of 2012.

After reaching a career-high ranking of No. 4 in the world, and contesting two Grand Slam finals and four out of five Grand Slam quarterfinals during a torrid stretch from 2010 to 2011, the Milan native has looked outclassed on the court at times lately, and just plain worn out at others. At a time when 30-somethings are achieving new milestones virtually every week on tour, Schiavone apparently didn't get the memo.

Either that or she's still hungover from all the vino that she consumed after winning Roland Garros.

But if there is one thing Francesca Schiavone proved when she came out of nowhere to win the French Open with a ranking of No. 17 in the world in 2010, it's that the Italian and the terre battue in Paris make a good combination.

Schiavone's been tough at the French Open ever since she reached the quarterfinals in her first main draw appearance in 2000. She's 35-11 over the course of her career at the French Open, and 9-1 in tiebreakers.

Even more remarkable is the fact that while Schiavone owns a 56-126 career record against the top 20, she's gone 9-6 against the top 20 in fifteen French Open matches.

The numbers say a lot about the 32-year-old's relationship with Roland Garros, but anybody who has watched Schiavone play there knows that her game is a spiritual endeavor more than a material one. The woman is a throwback and she's as old-school as they come. That's what made her rise to relevance so emotionally gratifying for so many fans in 2010. The fact that a player like Schiavone, with an artfully crafted game, one that featured a whole lot of slice-n-dice, pace and spin variation, guts, guile, and fortitude could take out the whole bunch of more powerful and technically superior players for the title was a breath of fresh air for many.

Watching Schiavone was like stumbling upon a Caravaggio in a museum after hours or staring at modern abstract paintings. It was soul-quenching.

So, can she do it again? Or, can she even come close do doing it again? Schiavone thinks, eh, maybe.

"Yeah, why not?" she said last week in Marrakech. "I've been working really hard and am coming back from some difficult times, so why not?"

At 37 in the world, and with no points to make up at Portugal, Madrid or Rome, Schiavone should be able to get seeded for Paris. That will help her immensely in the first week, and if she can make it through to the second week, expect a few naysayers to be echoing Schiavone's sentiment.

Why not?

(Photo Credit: AP)