FOR all the talk of the new generation, when the women’s event begins here at the French Open today, it will be the case, as always, of which Serena Williams will show up.

If it’s the Serena Williams who dominated the Tour in 2015 and came within two matches of completing the calendar grand slam, then the rest are playing for second place.

If, on the other hand, it’s the Williams who has shown some signs of vulnerability in the first few months of the year, then they might just have a sniff.

The bad news for the chasing pack is that after a handful of surprise losses, Williams looks back on track, her victory last weekend in Rome silencing the critics and establishing her favouritism once again.

It will only be when Serena Williams eventually hangs up her racquets, whenever that day comes, that we will truly appreciate her dominance at the top of the women’s game.

Even last year, when she battled flu to come through a string of three- setters to take the title, she won when not at her best, something she acknowledged on her return to Roland Garros this week.

“In the locker room, the lady [who manages it] said: ‘How are you? Are you OK?’.

“Last time she saw me my eyes were glassy and I was just not doing well.

“I think that’s probably going to be something that always sits out in my mind. Like, wow, of all titles, that was crazy that I was able to win this one last year.”

Czech Petra Kvitova, with two Wimbledon titles to her name, is still the only player (woman or man) born in the 1990s to have won a grand slam, a mark of the next generation’s inability to step up.

The American may be 35 but she remains by far the world’s best player and even if she admits that her 2016 has not been perfect, yet, she is on track for grand slam win number 22, which would equal the open-era record held by Steffi Graf.

“Obviously for me, if I’m not winning, I’m not happy about my year,” Williams said. “Four tournaments, three finals isn’t bad for, I think, everyone else. Then again, I’m not everyone else.

“It felt good to win in Rome. I was feeling pretty confident going into some of those matches. Especially the last few, I felt a lot better.”

Being able to beat Williams and doing it, especially at grand slam events, is another matter altogether but Germany’s Angelique Kerber showed in Australia, when she beat her in the final, that it can be done.

“Of course I have a lot of confidence to be here,” said Kerber, who said she was almost 100 per cent fit again after recent shoulder problems. “I reached only one quarter- final here [but] I’m feeling good.

“I’m not thinking too much that I won the first grand slam of the year because every tournament starts from zero. It’s a good feeling to be the champion from [the] Australian Open, but here we all start from the first match.”

Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who usually plays in the week before a grand slam, changed her schedule, missing last week in Rome in an effort to try to finally go beyond the quarter-finals at Roland Garros. “I have been almost two weeks at home and really practising a lot,” she said. “I just hope that it’s going to work good for me to skip Rome and play good here.”

Kvitova is always dangerous if she can find her rhythm, while fourth seed Garbine Muguruza is a threat, but perhaps the biggest danger to Williams could come from Victoria Azarenka. After a couple of years beset by injuries, the Belarussian is back to her best, as she showed in winning back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami.

Clay may not be her best surface but the former world No 1 is seeded to meet Williams in the quarter-final and has the belief to beat her.

“I just got healthy,” she said of her return to the top five. “I don’t think there was anything else that was a problem for me not to play at top level, but my physical ability didn’t allow me to compete how I wanted.

“So I do believe that I have improved, and I’m still improving. I want to use this year and hopefully next year for a process to make myself the best player possible.”

Williams admits that the unseasonable weather – the first week looks particularly cool – has made her mind flick back to 12 months ago.

“I have thought about that,” she said. “If that happens again, I’m not sure I can get through that again. I will just make sure I have my vitamins and just be healthy.”

If she’s healthy, it’s likely she’ll win.