Mumbai, May 22 -- Aryna Sabalenka, the unchallenged numero uno in women's tennis at present, and clay courts make for a curious case study. The Belarusian has triumphed at the Madrid Open, the prestigious WTA 1000 tournament on the European clay swing, three times including this year, matching the tally of Petra Kvitova, the crafty left-handed Czech. Sabalenka has beaten some of the more reputed clay-courters, including Ashleigh Barty and Iga Swiatek, and played her part in elevating the 2024 Madrid final with Swiatek to be among the most iconic battles in recent memory. Yet, of her 20 titles, only those three have come on clay. The 27-year-old has notched up 62 match wins on clay since 2021, as per stats by WTA. It's the second-best on the women's tour after four-time French Open champion Swiatek (81). Sabalenka's 5759.25 points on the WTA Clay-Court Power Rankings - an average of the points collected on the surface from the 2021 season - are also only second to Swiatek's (9336.75). Yet, the three-time Slam winner and two-time Wimbledon semifinalist has made just one semi-final at the French Open. Evidently over the last few years, Sabalenka has gradually found her feet and taken solid strides on the red dirt, but she is yet to make that big push where it matters most on the surface: Roland Garros. For the runaway world No.1 who has been consistency personified for a while now, the French Open starting on Sunday marks a significant test on whether she can crack the clay code in Paris and enhance her reputation from a mere hard-court bully to a multi-court champion. She has momentum, confidence and a more rounded game as her allies in that quest. The Australian Open finalist sits on a tour-leading 34 victories (to 6 losses) this season. That includes a 12-2 win-loss record on clay, with a title in Madrid and a final appearance in Stuttgart, where she lost to 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko. What would also work in Sabalenka's favour in Paris is that Swiatek, the three-time defending champion, is going through a rough patch. And, with the exception of world No.4 Jasmine Paolini, the rest in the top 10 also do not portray comfort on clay. Sabalenka, the two-time Australian Open and reigning US Open champion, certainly hasn't felt comfortable at Roland Garros. Five straight first-week exits from 2018 to 2022 - Sabalenka was far from developed in her game and the mind in that period - was followed by a semi-final defeat in 2023 to Karolina Muchova. Struck down by illness, she was packed off by Russian teen Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-final last year. Sumit Nagal crashed out in the second qualifying round of the French Open, losing to world No.207 Jurij Rodionov of Austria 6-2, 6-4 in Paris on Wednesday. Nagal was the only Indian in singles at Roland Garros....