Just in case your sports plate isn’t already overstuffed, what with the NBA playoffs cresting, baseball in full bloom and auto racing in full zoom thanks to this weekend’s Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600, today also marks the start of the French Open tennis tournament.

And unlike some springs atop the red clay of Roland Garros, we’re going to hear a lot in a hurry about our own Ashley Harkleroad. Unfortunately, we’re going to hear it during her match this afternoon against fifth-seeded Serena Williams, who won the French in 2002 and was a quarterfinalist last year.

Even Ashley’s grandfather, Derryl Harkleroad, lamented the pairing Friday night from his home in Rock Spring, Ga., saying, “Drawing Serena right off the bat puts a damper on her chances.”

Yet Derryl was also quick to add, “Clay’s really always been (Ashley’s) best surface, and she told her dad earlier this week that she’s made a lot of progress.”

Until a few weeks ago, Harkleroad’s chances to light up Paris had rarely looked better. For starters, it’s the only one of the four majors where she owns a winning record (5-4). She has also climbed back to No. 59 in the world rankings, which places her fourth among American women, trailing only the Williams sisters and Lindsey Davenport.

There was also her impressive Fed Cup showing against Germany in February. Harkleroad posted two singles wins, prompting her teammates to choose her to carry a giant American flag around the LaJolla (Calif.) Beach & Tennis Club court for a victory lap.

“I wanted everybody to come with me,” she told the assembled media that day. “But they left me. I just know I wasn’t expecting to do this.”

So much had been expected of her when she turned pro just before her 16th birthday in 2000. She was pretty, bright, sweet and talented. She was supposed to become a more wholesome version of Anna Kournikova, but with a little more game.

And as her 11-5 singles record shows this season, there have been at least a few moments to support that promise. She rose to 39th in singles in 2003 and 29th in doubles last year. She reached the third round of the Australian Open last year and the third round at Roland Garros in 2003. She has won nearly $1 million in prize money for her career and reportedly earned at least that much in endorsement deals.

But a long list of injuries and health problems — she was forced to have emergency surgery for an ovarian cyst in March — have also plagued her.

Those struggles have occasionally hurt her confidence as well.

“Zina (Garrison, Fed Cup captain) just kept saying, ‘Keep your body language positive,’” Harkleroad said in Febrary. “I think that’s a key for me, because sometimes I do tend to maybe drop my head.”

Said her grandfather: “I think it’s a combination of things. Everybody knows about the injuries. I also think Ashley may be a little bit of a late bloomer, which is unusual in women’s tennis. And she’s just switched rackets (from Babolat to Prince). She’s still just 23. I think her best tennis may still be ahead of her.”

Not that she has ever allowed tennis to change her personally.

As her great-grandmother Selma Harkleroad noted Friday, “Ashley’s always been a sweet little girl.”

Of course, within that statement is also one of the player’s biggest problems. By women’s tennis standards Harkleroad is physically small. She’s 5-foot-5 and roughly 120 pounds. Against Serena she’ll give up five inches in height and at least 25 pounds in power.

While Maria Sharapova, Davenport, the Williams sisters and most of the rest of field can bail themselves with both length and power, Harkleroad must carefully craft her points. Precision, smarts and toughness must be in abundance almost every match.

That doesn’t mean she can’t achieve her goal to become a Top 10 player. Just-retired Justine Henin is roughly the same size as Harkleroad and she won seven Grand Slam titles, including the last three French Opens.

“Ashley’s a great little athlete,” Fed Cup teammate Lisa Raymonds, the doubles specialist, said in February. “A lot of potential and she’s tenacious. I mean, she’s a fighter. It’s not just how you hit the ball; it’s what’s between the ears. She obviously showed she’s got a big heart.”

Now the sweet little girl with the big heart gets a big chance atop Roland Garros’s red clay (Could a Rossville, Ga., native ask for anything more?) to bring down one of the game’s biggest names.

“We don’t know what to expect,” her grandfather said. “I just knows she seems to be enjoying tennis more.”

We’ll find out today whether we can enjoy her at the French Open for more than one round.