PARIS, May 22 (AFP) - Nathalie Tauziat is the ninth seed for the French Open and one of the host country's main hopes of a first women's singles title since Francoise Durr in 1967. Along with Mary Pierce, Sandrine Testud, Julie Halard-Decugis and Amelie Mauresmo, Tauziat is one of five French women ranked in the top 20 in the world. She frankly admits, however, that she has far greater hopes of triumph at next month's Wimbledon than the clay court Grand Slam event in her own country. Tauziat made the Wimbledon final last year - only to lose to Jana Novotna - and believes her attacking serve-and-volley game is best suited to the grass courts of the All-England Club. "I've been playing on grass for 15 years now and every year I've learned more about how to play on it," she said. Tauziat, now 31, is hoping she returns to top form by next month. She skipped the Australian tournaments at the start of the year and the decision backfired when she won just three matches in her first five tournaments back on tour. "I had a tough season last year and took just one week off," she explained. "This year especially I worked very hard. I tried weights and was still tired in my head when I started playing again. I had no motivation. The weights didn't help me with my game so I've stopped, and now I've started to move much better." Even though she is one of the older players on the WTA Tour - and reached the top 10 for the first time at the age of 30 - Tauziat retains her enthusiasm and ambition. "I'm not the best - and I want to be," she said. "I'm only one of the best, and you always want to improve. "I've played the best tennis of my career over the last two years and I know I can still get a little bit better." Tauziat, born in the Central African Republic and the cousin of French World Cup star Didier Deschamps, will be playing singles at Roland Garros for the 16th straight year and opens against compatriot Amelie Cocheteaux. Her best performance on the clay was in 1991, when she made the quarter-finals, although she has regularly done better at Wimbledon.  