Serena Williams sounded an ominous warning to her French Open rivals yesterday by racing into the last eight with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Russia's Dinara Safina.
The US player needed just 77 minutes to wrap up the fourth round tie against a shell-shocked Safina who was powerless in the face of the Williams onslaught.
The win could set up a potential quarter-final showdown against title-holder and top seed Justine Henin tomorrow.
PHOTO: AP
The Belgian was scheduled to play her fourth round tie against Austria's Sybille Bammer later yesterday.
Williams blasted out of the blocks against Safina, the 10th seed and sister of Marat Safin, the former men's world No. 1.
She broke her opponent's first two service games to go 4-0 up and wrapped up the set 6-2 in 36 minutes.
The second set was a different story with both players struggling to hold on to their serves and Safina, a quarter-finalist here last year, at times matching Williams for power off her groundstrokes.
The pair exchanged two service breaks each to get to 3-3 but in the following game Williams made the difference with a third service break before moving 5-3 ahead.
There was no way back for Safina who had her service broken for the sixth time in the match as Williams returned to the French Open quarter-finals for the first time since 2004, the last time she played at Roland Garros.
Amelie Mauresmo was unable to do what another two-time Grand Slam champion hampered by an injury, Maria Sharapova, managed on Saturday: Deal with pain, set aside a lack of proper preparation and beat a less-experienced opponent.
The fifth-seeded Mauresmo blew a 3-0 lead in each set and lost to No. 25 Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-6 (3), the latest in a string of early exits at Roland Garros for the Frenchwoman.
On the mens' side, double defending champion Rafael Nadal took his Roland Garros record to 17-0 and celebrated his birthday in style by reaching the French Open fourth round on Saturday.
Nadal, 21, eased past compatriot Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 and will face former world No. 1 and former Wimbledon and US Open winner, Lleyton Hewitt for a place in the quarter-finals.
Hewitt, the 14th seed, defeated 20th seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen 1-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 to set up a repeat of last year's last 16 clash, which Nadal won in four sets on his way to a second successive title.
Nadal insisted he won't underestimate the gutsy Australian against whom he trails 4-2 in career meetings and especially after their most recent meeting in the Hamburg semi-finals where the Spaniard dropped the first set before going through.
"Against Hewitt, it will be difficult," Nadal said.
If Nadal comes through the test against Hewitt, he could eventually meet 20-year-old Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
But the highly-rated, sixth seeded Serb struggled to reach the last 16 and needed more than four hours to clinch a 7-6 (7/2), 2-6, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win over French wildcard Olivier Patience.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
RSS