Venus first through to fourth round
Source: Agencies |
May 29, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
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Second seed Venus Williams became the first woman to reach the French Open fourth round when she outplayed Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 6-4 yesterday.
A break in the eighth game was enough for Venus, wearing the same risque black lace corset that has been getting all the hype in Paris, to secure the opening set.
The American, chasing her first title here, broke the 26th seed's serve again in the second set's seventh game, ending the contest at the net after one hour and 30 minutes.
Also, Maria Sharapova and Justine Henin set up a third-round showdown at the French Open by winning matches suspended overnight because of darkness.
Sharapova finished off Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-3, 6-3, and four-time champion Henin beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3.
A schedule backlog caused by rain created a parade of champions on the sixth day of the tournament. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams were among those who advanced.
Now the champions start playing each other. Henin has a 6-3 record against Sharapova, but the Russian won their most recent meeting in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Australian Open.
That was Henin's last grand slam match before she retired. Now the Belgian is mounting a career comeback and playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2007.
Henin, seeded 22nd, has French Open winning streaks of 23 matches and 39 sets.
The No. 12-seeded Sharapova is seeking the only grand slam title she has yet to win.
Brisk workouts
Williams and Nadal took the court on a sunny, cool morning and engaged in brisk workouts. The top-ranked Williams won nine consecutive games and advanced to the third round by beating Julia Goerges of Germany 6-1, 6-1. Four-time champion Nadal lost serve only once and beat Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
Williams won in 55 minutes and said such a rout can help her in later matches.
"I can learn a lot, like, 'OK, what am I doing today? How can I get them to all be like that?'" she said. "Those are the questions that I ask and I try to answer."
Nadal advanced in 1 hour, 45 minutes. He has lost only 13 games through two rounds and next faces two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt, who outlasted Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. Hewitt improved to 30-14 in five-set matches.
The top-ranked Federer reached the fourth round by beating qualifier Julian Reister of Germany 6-4, 6-0, 6-4. Federer never faced a break point and lost only five points on his first serve.
Djokovic, a two-time semifinalist, overcame nine double-faults for a second-round win over Kei Nishikori of Japan, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
No. 9 David Ferrer, led 6-2, 6-2, 2-0 when Xavier Malisse retired. No. 19 Nicolas Almagro of Spain, No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Austria and No. 31 Victor Hansecu of Romania also advanced.
In women's play, Russian qualifier Anastasia Pivovarova, ranked 187th, upset No. 25-seeded Zheng Jie of China 6-4, 6-3. No. 13 Marion Bartoli and No. 29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also won.
A break in the eighth game was enough for Venus, wearing the same risque black lace corset that has been getting all the hype in Paris, to secure the opening set.
The American, chasing her first title here, broke the 26th seed's serve again in the second set's seventh game, ending the contest at the net after one hour and 30 minutes.
Also, Maria Sharapova and Justine Henin set up a third-round showdown at the French Open by winning matches suspended overnight because of darkness.
Sharapova finished off Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-3, 6-3, and four-time champion Henin beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3.
A schedule backlog caused by rain created a parade of champions on the sixth day of the tournament. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams were among those who advanced.
Now the champions start playing each other. Henin has a 6-3 record against Sharapova, but the Russian won their most recent meeting in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Australian Open.
That was Henin's last grand slam match before she retired. Now the Belgian is mounting a career comeback and playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2007.
Henin, seeded 22nd, has French Open winning streaks of 23 matches and 39 sets.
The No. 12-seeded Sharapova is seeking the only grand slam title she has yet to win.
Brisk workouts
Williams and Nadal took the court on a sunny, cool morning and engaged in brisk workouts. The top-ranked Williams won nine consecutive games and advanced to the third round by beating Julia Goerges of Germany 6-1, 6-1. Four-time champion Nadal lost serve only once and beat Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
Williams won in 55 minutes and said such a rout can help her in later matches.
"I can learn a lot, like, 'OK, what am I doing today? How can I get them to all be like that?'" she said. "Those are the questions that I ask and I try to answer."
Nadal advanced in 1 hour, 45 minutes. He has lost only 13 games through two rounds and next faces two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt, who outlasted Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. Hewitt improved to 30-14 in five-set matches.
The top-ranked Federer reached the fourth round by beating qualifier Julian Reister of Germany 6-4, 6-0, 6-4. Federer never faced a break point and lost only five points on his first serve.
Djokovic, a two-time semifinalist, overcame nine double-faults for a second-round win over Kei Nishikori of Japan, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
No. 9 David Ferrer, led 6-2, 6-2, 2-0 when Xavier Malisse retired. No. 19 Nicolas Almagro of Spain, No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Austria and No. 31 Victor Hansecu of Romania also advanced.
In women's play, Russian qualifier Anastasia Pivovarova, ranked 187th, upset No. 25-seeded Zheng Jie of China 6-4, 6-3. No. 13 Marion Bartoli and No. 29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also won.
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