May 30th, 2008
Paris, France
On this long Friday in Paris, the day began with Serena Williams on Court Suzanne Lenglen taking on a woman who had never beat her in all their previous meetings. The day would end with Venus Williams on Court Philippe-Chatrier taking on a woman who is experienced on clay and who had beaten her the last time they played.
Serena Williams wasn't playing her best and it was evident with her horrible unforced errors that she was spewing around the court. In the first set, Katarina Srebotnik was very consistent, getting a lot of balls back, hitting incredible volleys when needing to. Williams on the other hand was hitting ridiculous errors and it cost her as Srebotnik went on and took the first set, 6-4. The second set featured much of the same as Williams continued to play with her lackluster effort and Srebotnik took advantage to dispose of Serena, 6-4, 6-4. It was the earliest Serena had lost at Roland Garros since 1999.
Her sister Venus was playing later in the day, and well into the evening hours against a tricky opponent, Flavia Pennetta who had defeated Williams the last time they played. Venus, like Serena was playing with lackluster effort, losing the first set in a close battle, 7-5. However as the second set progressed, both began playing better tennis but Venus was too shaky and Pennetta too solid, which would eventually lead to a 6-3 win in the second set for Pennetta. The Williams sisters will have to look forward to Wimbledon next month to try to regain some footing.
Jelena Jankovic couldn't finish out her match as the evening came on, leading 7-5, 4-2 against her opponent, Dominika Cibulkova. Ana Ivanovic on the other hand played once again with great intensity during her Third Round match and her good fortune continued as she reached the Round of 16, with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Caroline Wozniacki. Maria Sharapova continued her uneasy march further into the tournament with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Bethanie Mattek. Sharapova must not be very pleased with the way she has been playing so far at Roland Garros.
Tomorrow, Maria Sharapova returns for her Third Round match, Jankovic needs to return to finish her match off, and Svetlana Kuznetsova will try to march further as she plays against fellow Russian, Nadia Petrova.
Results:
Court Philippe-Chatrier
(2)Ana Ivanovic d. (30)Caroline Wozniacki - 6-4, 6-1
(1)Maria Sharapova d. Bethanie Mattek - 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
(26)Flavia Pennetta d. (8)Venus Williams - 7-5, 6-3
Court Suzanne Lenglen
(27)Katarina Srebotnik d. (5)Serena Williams - 6-4, 6-4
(14)Agnieszka Radwanska d. (19)Alize Cornet - 6-4, 6-4
Court 1
(10)Patty Schnyder d. Emilie Loit - 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-2
Court 2
Petra Cetkovska d. Iveta Benesova - 6-3, 6-3
(11)Vera Zvonareva d. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro - 6-2, 6-4
Carla Suarez Navarro d. Casey Dellacqua - 6-3, 6-3
Top 10 Seeds:
1. Maria Sharapova - Round 3
2. Ana Ivanovic - Round of 16
3. Jelena Jankovic - Round 3
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Round 3
5. Serena Williams - Lost in Round 3 (Srebotnik)
6. Anna Chakvetadze - Lost in Round 2 (Kanepi)
7. Elena Dementieva - Round 3
8. Venus Williams - Lost in Round 3 (Pennetta)
9. Marion Bartoli - Lost in Round 1 (Dellacqua)
10. Patty Schnyder - Round of 16
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