2007 French Open at Roland Garros WTA Singles Results     Justine Henin, Champion

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  WTA: May 27-Jun 10 '07  French Open

Roland Garros, FRA Grand Slam
Prize$: €15,264,500 (total, ladies 50%)
128 players - outdoor: red clay

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# 1 J Henin, # 2 M Sharapova
# 3 S Kuznetsova, # 4 J Jankovic
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Roland Garros:
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#1 Justine Henin
5' 5¾", 126 lb, RH, 1H-BH
Roland Garros:
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6th
Grand Slam Title
Roland Garros:
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4th
French Open Title
French great Suzanne Leglen, shown in 1920, was reknowned for her mobility on court

   
Early round play at  Roland Garros begins at  11am local time.

Roland Garros, Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, France
Roland Garros, Boulogne-Billancourt
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    The French Open has 32 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. There are 12 qualifiers and 8 wild cards in the main draw.
    Paris daylight savings time is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) plus 2 hours. That is Eastern Daylight Time in the US + 6 hours, PDT+9 hours. Early round play begins at 11am local time; the final is at 3pm on Saturday, June 9.

      On Saturday at Roland Garros, in the final of the French Open, the 2003, '05 & '06 champ, 25 year old top-seeded # 1 Justine Henin of Belgium (residence: Monte Carlo), handily defeated this year's German Open champ, 19 year old 7th-seeded # 8 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia (residence: Basel, Switzerland), 6-1, 6-2 (photos shown).

    Ana broke Justine's serve in the first game of the match, and led 40-love on her own serve in the second game. But she did not hold serve. Ana did not break Justine again the rest of the match, while Justine broke Ana's serve again in the 4th and 6th games while taking the 1st set 6-1.

    Justine broke Ana to open the 2nd set, and again in the 5th game of the set. Although Ana did settle down a bit, and held serve to love in the 3rd and 7th games of the set, she could not reach a break point against Justine, and thus had no chances to level the match.

    Justine hit 8 winners with 14 unforced errors, while Ana struck only 5 winners with 31 errors, including 5 double faults. Justine broke Ana's serve a total of five times, on just 7 break points, and outscored her 55 points to 33 for the match. match stats - WTA story

    Justine said: "[The second] game was important. That was important to really stay close to [Ana] in the match, very early in the match... I did hit one or two pretty good forehands. And I felt a little bit more free after that.
    "But I also felt she started to really be nervous. And the thing is that especially on my return, I was very far from the baseline, and that's good. That's what I have to do against a player who is serving so well. All of the other players, against big serves, they stay on the baseline. And it's easier for the opponent to hit winners after a return like that. So I just took my time. And I was very far from my baseline, but I played pretty long on the return. And she wasn't really ready for this either...
    "It's been tough situation for her, first Grand Slam final. And she gave me a lot of points. And I just had to be very solid, very intense, and I served pretty well, actually. I was happy about that, too." interview - interview video

    Ana said: "In the beginning of the match, I felt okay. I was trying to put the nerves aside, emotions aside. But then, in the first service game, all of a sudden... on 40-15, in that game, I, all of a sudden, started feeling nervous, and my ball toss was going everywhere. So I couldn't really control it. So I start to think more about that instead of my game. And also, I was too much focused on the serve, trying to toss the ball right, so I didn't totally think about moving well or where should I play. And then she could use that well, she stepped up a little bit.
    "And even when I had some chances to come back, and I played a few good points, she was there. She didn't give me much -- much of a window, and it was tough... But I guess I can use this as experience. And next time I'll be in that situation, I will probably know how to deal with it better." interview - interview video

    No Service: Ana led all the ladies at this year's French Open by serving 36 aces (Nicole Vaidisova was 2nd with 29). But in the final Ana had no aces, and 5 double faults. Justine, who had 26 DFs for the tourney, had only one in the final. Both Justine and Ana averaged about 105mph (170kph) on their 1st serves, and 92mph on 2nd serves. Neither player was in the top 20 for 1st service percentage for the tourney; Justine put 55% of her 1st serves in the box in the final; Ana, 50%.

    In the semifinals, Ana's 1st serves averaged 108mph (175kph) with 67% landing in the box, and her 2nd serves averaged 92mph (148kph). She hit 5 aces and had 1 DF. Justine averaged the same 1st serve speed as Ana, 108mph, and 89mph (144kph) on her 2nd serves, but only 41% of her 1st serves were good, and she hit no aces with 2 DFs.

    In her 4th round match against Anabel Medina Garrigues, Ana hit a 125mph (201kph) serve, 2nd fastest in this tourney after Venus Williams's personal best 128mph (206kph). The all-time women's record is a 130mph serve struck by 35 year old Brenda Schultz McCarthy in a qualifying match in Cincinnati on July 15, 2006.

    Justine and Ana had met only once before, in a semifinal on red clay in Warsaw in 2005, when Justine won, 6-4, 7-5.

    Justine is now 33-16 in WTA singles finals. In addition to the 2003, '05, '06, & '07 French Open titles, she won the 2003 US Open and the 2004 Australian Open.
Justine Henin Wallpaper - Justine Henin career record - official website

    Ana is now 3-2 in WTA singles finals; she won her titles in Canberra in 2005, Montreal (Tier I, defeating Martina Hingis) in 2006, and Berlin (also Tier I) a few weeks ago.
Ana Ivanovic career record - official website

  Major Skirmishes, Top Half

4th Round:
# 1 Justine Henin d # 23 Sybille Bammer 6-2, 6-4
# 4 Jelena Jankovic d # 21 Marion Bartoli 6-1, 6-1
# 7 Nicole Vaidisova d # 22 Tathiana Garbin 6-3, 6-1
# 9 Serena Williams d # 11 Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-3
Quarterfinals:
# 1 Justine Henin d # 9 Serena Williams 6-4, 6-3
# 4 Jelena Jankovic d # 7 Nicole Vaidisova 6-3, 7-5
Semifinal:
# 1 Justine Henin d # 4 Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 6-2
   

  Major Skirmishes, Bottom Half

4th Round:
# 2 Maria Sharapova d # 15 Patty Schnyder 3-6, 6-4, 9-7
# 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova d # 16 Shahar Peer 6-4, 6-3
# 8 Ana Ivanovic d # 27 Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
# 10 Anna Chakvetadze d # 28 Lucie Safarova 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
Quarterfinals:
# 2 Maria Sharapova d # 10 Anna Chakvetadze 6-3, 6-4
# 8 Ana Ivanovic d # 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-0, 3-6, 6-1
Semifinal:
# 8 Ana Ivanovic d # 2 Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-1

    In the women's doubles final on Friday, the 17th-seeded team of 26 year old Alicia Molik from Melbourne, Australia, and 25 year old Mara Santangelo from Cavalese, Italy, defeated the 7th seeded team of 31 year old Ai Sugiyama from Kanagawa, Japan, and 26 year old Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia (residence: income tax free Dubai, United Arab Emirates), 7-6(5), 6-4.
    In the semis, Alicia and Mara defeated 2nd-seeded Cara Black and Liezel Huber. Alicia, once ranked # 6 at doubles, has now won 7 WTA doubles titles, including this year's Australian Open (partnered with Svetlana Kuznetsova). Mara, currently at her career-high of # 28 at doubles, has now won 5 WTA doubles titles, including this year's Italian Open title (partnered with Nathalie Dechy); this was her first Grand Slam tourney title.
    In the other doubles semi, Ai and Katarina defeated top seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur. Ai, a former # 1 at doubles, has won 33 career WTA doubles titles, including the 2003 French Open and Wimbledon titles (both with Kim Clijsters), and the 2000 US Open title (with Julie Halard-Decugis). Katarina, who reached a career-high doubles ranking of # 7 late last year, has won 15 WTA doubles titles with a variety of partners including Shinobu Asagoe and Dinara Safina, with whom she was a doubles finalist at last year's US Open.

    Katarina also reached Thursday's mixed doubles final, seeded 6th with partner Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia. However, Katarina and Nenad were defeated by 8th-seeded 28 year old Nathalie Dechy of France (residence: Tournai, Belgium) and her partner Andy Ram of Israel, 7-5, 6-3.
    Nathalie, who is currently at her career-high ranking of # 8 in women's doubles, was playing in her first mixed doubles final. Katarina is now 3-3 in mixed doubles finals; she won last year's French Open (with Zimonjic), the 2003 US Open (with Bob Bryan), and the 1999 French Open (with Norval). Nathalie's official website

    Men's final: s2 Rafael Nadal d s1 Roger Federer 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

WTA SCOREBOARD: French Open, Roland Garros
The Wimbledon Centre Court scoreboard at match point during the 1977 ladies singles semifinal as Virginia Wade defeated Chris Evert, and advanced to defeat Betty Stove in the final, becoming the last British woman to win the singles title at Wimbledon-- a portion of a photo from Virginia's book Courting Triumph, click for book excerpts
s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser
ranks are for the previous week
How do players get into the "draw"?
prizes in US $
are at May 21
conversion rate

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On Friday, May 25, 2007 at Roland Garros, 2003, 2005 & 2006 French Open champion Justine Henin practiced, while 2002 champ Serena Williams alerted the media about her chances this year, and Timea Bacsinszky won her qualifying final... On Wednesday,
May 30, injured Martina Hingis (quarterfinalist last year, semifinalist in '01, '00, & '98, finalist in '99 & '97), watched play...
French Open, 1st Round Sun-Tue May 27-29 11am
loser's prize: €14,290 = US $19,234 (2006: $16,183); points: 2
Sunday & Monday: Rain Delay, entire bottom half of draw ppd-Wed
#1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #67 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-4, 6-3 Sun

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Elena and Justine driving forehands, and Justine after match point

#2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #47 Emilie Loit FRA 6-3, 7-6(4) Wed

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Maria serving, Emilie's forehand, and Maria after match point

    About the right shoulder injury which kept her out of action for about two months before last week's tourney in Istanbul, Maria said: "My shoulder is still not where I want it to be. It's still not perfect. At times I still feel it... It was severe tendonitis. I had a lot of inflammation in the bursa. I'm not very familiar with all the terms. It was close to a tear." interview - interview video

    Emilie said: "There were plenty of opportunities today, but I was at pains with my serve. So when you get the break, that's okay, but you need to confirm it... I had a breakpoint and I made a double fault and I gave [Maria] the game... I was not really consistent today. And if I had been consistent, I would have won the second set." interview - interview video

#3 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #76 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 6-0, 6-3 Wed

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Svetlana getting a leg up on her backhand, and Ekaterina's fully aerial version

#4 s4 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #144 wc Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-2, 6-2 ppd-Tue

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Jelena delivering a serve with a bit of a twist, and following a forehand

    Jelena withdrew from the semis last week in Strasbourg due to gastrointestinal illness.

Jelena said: "I feel fine [now]. And in Strasbourg, it was hot, very, very hot. It was almost 40 degrees, so that day I wasn't feeling well. And after that match, I was throwing up and didn't feel that great. That's why I couldn't play my semifinal. But after two days, I was taking care and I was resting and taking a lot of medicine, and now I'm healthy...
    "I was a little bit nervous today. It was my first match. It's normal. You don't play your best tennis in the first match. But I'm getting used to the atmosphere to the courts, and it was a little bit slow. The balls were quite heavy. But it's good to pass the first round and hopefully I'll get better and better." interview - interview video

#5 s5 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #69 Laura Granville USA 6-0, 7-5 Wed

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Laura about to swat (and probably slice) a backhand, and Amelie driving one

    Amelie said: "I wanted to start with great intensity in this tournament, and this is what I've just done. So I'm quite happy, quite satisfied with what I did, and quite a few positive things in that match." interview - interview video

#7 s6 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #109 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-4, 6-3 ppd-Tue

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Emmanuelle firing a forehand, and Nicole following one

    Nicole, who reached the French Open semifinals in 2006 (and the Australian Open semis this year), was playing in her first match in over a month due to a right wrist injury.

    Nicole said: "For the last week and a half I've been pain-free, so that's very good. Just tape it as a precaution to make sure it's fine... Of course I'm lacking some matches. But on the other hand, it gives me no pressure here. I can just surprise myself, play better than I expect to, and we'll see." interview - interview video

#8 s7 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #121 LL Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-2, 6-0 Wed

    About the 2nd set, Ana said: "Since Sunday, I was expecting I might play next day, next day. So it's always tough. It takes away a lot of energy. Considering all that, I was really happy with my performance today. Obviously the court's are a little bit heavy, so I tried to not rush too much, take more time and focus on what I have to do." interview - interview video

#9 s8 Serena Williams USA d #95 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 Sun

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Tsvetana following a forehand, Serena following a backhand, and Serena after match point

#10 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #60 Alicia Molik AUS 6-2, 6-3 Wed

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Anna following a forehand

#11 s10 Dinara Safina RUS d #112 Yuliana Fedak UKR 7-5, 6-4 Sun

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Dinara's forehand, and Yuliana driving a backhand

*#181 q Kveta Peschke CZE d #12 s11 Nadia Petrova RUS 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 ppd-Tue

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Nadia and Kveta driving backhands

#13 s12 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #81 Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO 6-3, 6-1 Wed
#14 s13 Elena Dementieva RUS d #92 Angelique Kerber GER 6-3, 6-2 ppd-Tue

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Righty Elena and lefty Angelique following forehand and backhand

#15 s14 Patty Schnyder SUI d #134 Martina Sucha SVK 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 Wed

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Martina wondering why they don't print "Official Size and Weight" on tennis balls like they do on other sporting goods,
and Patty's forehand

#16 s15 Shahar Peer ISR d #55 Kaia Kanepi EST 6-1, 6-3 Wed

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Shahar's backhand

#18 s16 Na Li CHN d #88 Sandra Kloesel GER 7-6(4), 6-0 ppd-Mon

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Na's forehand drive

#20 s17 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #63 Anastasia Rodionova RUS 6-1, 6-3 Wed
#21 s18 Marion Bartoli FRA d #59 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-2, 6-4 ppd-Tue

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Marion's 2-handed forehand with backhand grip

#22 s19 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #51 Akiko Morigami JPN 7-6(2), 6-1 Mon

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Tathiana fielding a drop shot, and Akiko's backhand drive

#23 s20 Sybille Bammer AUT d #54 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-4, 6-4 ppd-Tue
#24 s21 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #84 Eva Birnerova CZE 6-3, 6-4 Wed

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Eva's forehand drive, and Ai's service toss

#25 s22 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #80 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-0, 6-1 Wed
#26 s23 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #94 Yvonne Meusburger AUT 6-2, 6-4 ppd-Mon-ppd-Tue

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Francesca driving a backhand

#27 s24 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #105 Varvara Lepchenko UZB 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 Wed
#28 s25 Lucie Safarova CZE d #120 Yulia Beygelzimer UKR 6-4, 6-3 Wed
#29 s26 Venus Williams USA d #114 wc Alize Cornet FRA 6-4, 6-3 ppd-Mon

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Venus firing a forehand, Alize about to swat a backhand, and Venus after match point

    Venus said: "[Alize] definitely returned a lot of balls, but this is clay, and I have to expect that. And maybe she was surprised that I was returning so many balls, too. And I'm ready to play a lot of shots. And I think my movement is really good and my slide is fine. And really, even if the point doesn't go the way I want to, I'm having a lot of fun because I'm getting to do what I love to do." interview - interview video

#30 s27 Samantha Stosur AUS d #97 Jamea Jackson USA 6-1, 6-2 Mon
#31 s28 Mara Santangelo ITA d #43 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-1, 6-4 ppd-Tue
#33 s29 Gisela Dulko ARG d #125 q Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 6-4, 6-3 Wed

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Gisela's forehand drive, and Su-Wei's backhand

*#122 q Ioana Raluca Olaru ROU d #34 s30 Julia Vakulenko UKR 6-4, 6-1 Wed
*#37 Michaella Krajicek NED d #35 s31 Severine Bremond FRA 6-4, 6-3 ppd-Mon

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Severine and Michaella driving forehands

#36 s32 Martina Muller GER d #210 q Rossana De Los Rios PAR 6-4, 6-4 Wed
#38 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #41 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 7-5, 0-6, 6-3 Wed
*#66 Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #39 Anastasia Myskina RUS 6-1, 6-0 Wed

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Meghann's forehand, and Anastasia meeting the press after the loss

    2004 French Open champion (and former # 2) Anastasia began suffering from left big toe pain and inflammation last summer, and had not played since January. Since then she has been hosting Russian sports TV shows, having surgery on her injured toe in Germany (January 15, near Stuttgart), recovering, and practicing. Her longtime coach Jens Gerlach has taken a job with the British LTA, and Anastasia is now working with Larisa Savchenko, a "second mother" to her.

    Anastasia said: "I knew that I'm not going to win, but I just wanted to see how my foot was going to feel during the matches... [now the foot is] swollen again.. One hour, it's good, but then I have pain... I can't push, you know, from my foot, from the left foot like I used to run, I can't run...
    "I had a great life these five months in Moscow, so I know how it's going to be after tennis. And it's fine with me. I just want to try again if I can do it... I will do my best. And then I will see." interview - interview video

    Anastasia is on the entry lists for Eastbourne (where she reached the final before losing a close match to Justine Henin last year) and Wimbledon. Hopefully her foot will fully heal soon.

#40 Meilen Tu USA d #103 Romina Oprandi ITA 6-3, 6-4 Wed
#42 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #72 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-3, 6-0 Mon-Tue
#44 Nicole Pratt AUS d #64 Flavia Pennetta ITA 7-6(3), 6-2 Wed
#45 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #107 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 6-2, 6(3)-7, 6-0 Wed

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Caroline's backhand, and Nathalie after match point

#46 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #98 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 6-0, 6-1 Wed
*#127 wc Mathilde Johansson FRA d #48 A-L Groenefeld GER 7-5, 6-4 ppd-Mon-ppd-Tue

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Mathilde after match point

*#117 q Timea Bacsinszky SUI d #49 Jie Zheng CHN 7-6(3), 6-0 ppd-Tue
*#85 Karin Knapp ITA d #50 Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-1, 6-1 Wed
#52 Sania Mirza IND d #87 Alberta Brianti ITA 6-1, 6-1 Wed
*#56 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #53 Yung-Jan Chan TPE 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 Wed
*#73 Jill Craybas USA d #57 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 Wed
*#106 Edina Gallovits ROM d #58 Vasilisa Bardina RUS 6-0, 4-0 retired Wed
*#68 Milagros Sequera VEN d #61 Virginie Razzano FRA 5-7, 6-3, 9-7 Mon-rain-Tue

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Virginie and Milagros driving backhands

#65 Tamira Paszek AUT d #79 Aiko Nakamura JPN 6-4, 6-0 Sun

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Aiko about to swat a two-handed forehand, and Tamira's backhand

#70 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA d #119 wc Casey Dellacqua AUS 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 ppd-Tue
#71 Shenay Perry USA d #179 wc Olivia Sanchez FRA 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 ppd-Mon-Tue
*#82 Vera Dushevina RUS d #74 Camille Pin FRA 6-4, 6-4 Wed
*#136 q Olga Savchuk UKR d #75 Yaroslava Shvedova RUS 7-5, 7-5 ppd-Tue
#77 Ashley Harkleroad USA d #83 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 6-2, 7-6(1) ppd-Mon
*#206 q Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #78 Vania King USA 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 ppd-Tue
*#151 q Andrea Petkovic GER d #86 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 ppd-Tue
*#124 q Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #90 Tiantian Sun CHN 6-4, 6-4 Wed
#93 Tzipora Obziler ISR d #123 Melinda Czink HUN 6-3, 6-4 ppd-Mon-Tue
*#138 wc Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA d #99 Anastasia Yakimova BLR 7-6(3), 6-1 Mon-Tue
#101 q Agnes Szavay HUN d #113 Anne Kremer LUX 7-5, 6-2 Wed

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Agnes's backhand

#100 Tatiana Poutchek BLR d #116 wc Youlia Fedossova FRA 6-3, 6-2 Wed
#102 Catalina Castano COL d #141 LL Emma Laine FIN 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 ppd-Tue
#104 q Alla Kudryavtseva RUS d #110 Julia Schruff GER 6-1, 6-4 Wed
*#268 sr48 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #126 Anna Smashnova ISR 6-2, 7-5 ppd-Tue
#155 wc Pauline Parmentier FRA d #255 q Mariya Koryttseva UKR 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 ppd-Tue

French Open, 2nd Rd Wed-Thu May 30-31 11am
loser's prize: €23,760 = US $31,981 (2006: $26,908); points: 60
Wednesday: all but 1 match completed despite rain delay
Thursday: all but 1 match completed despite rain delay
#1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #65 Tamira Paszek AUT 7-5, 6-1 Wed

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Justine delivering a twist serve, Tamira following a backhand, and Justine following a slice serve

#2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #73 Jill Craybas USA 6-2, 6-1 Thu

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Jill's backhand, and Maria following one, and after match point

    About how she spent her time in April when her injured shoulder was healing, Maria said: " I was able to live a normal life alone by myself for a few weeks where, you know, I got to go to the grocery store... the first time I was lost, absolutely lost. Now I've got it under control. I know where the vegetables are, where my favorite cheese is, I've got it all going... The cooking is awful [laughing]. It's completely awful. I always call my friends over to help me. I'm not very patient, and I can't wait for things to boil and to fry and make sure it's not red and all of that. But I usually go to my friends house and help them cook, which is just cutting up a vegetable." interview - interview video

#3 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #66 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 7-6(4), 6-3 Thu

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Meghann and Svetlana driving backhands

#4 s4 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #102 Catalina Castano COL 6-3, 6-3 Wed

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Jelena driving a forehand

#5 s5 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #45 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-3, 6(3)-7, 6-1 Thu

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Amelie's running backhand

#7 s6 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #206 q Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 6-2, 6-4 Wed

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Nicole following a backhand, and after winning a point

#8 s7 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #52 Sania Mirza IND 6-1, 6-4 Thu

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Sania serving, Ana following a forehand, and after match point

#9 s8 Serena Williams USA d #68 Milagros Sequera VEN 6-0, 7-6(3) ppd-Thu

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Milagros congratulating Serena after match point

    Serena's 1st round match was played on Sunday; rain delayed her 2nd round match to Thursday. Serena said: "It was weird. I didn't feel like I played my best tennis throughout the whole match. I was kind of struggling out there to get the rhythm. Maybe because I had too many days off." interview - interview video

#10 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #101 q Agnes Szavay HUN 6-4, 6(1)-7, 6-4 Thu

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Anna's service toss, and Agnes & Anna driving backhands

#11 s10 Dinara Safina RUS d #93 Tzipora Obziler ISR 6-1, 6-0 Wed

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Dinara's backhand

#13 s12 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #38 Olga Poutchkova RUS 7-6(6), 6-3 ppd-Fri
#14 s13 Elena Dementieva RUS d #127 wc Mathilde Johansson FRA 7-5, 7-5 Wed

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Elena's service toss

#15 s14 Patty Schnyder SUI d #46 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 6-3, 6-2 Thu

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Patty's service toss, Patty following a serve, and Kateryna driving a backhand

#16 s15 Shahar Peer ISR d #106 Edina Gallovits ROM 6-4, 6-1 Thu
#18 s16 Na Li CHN d #155 wc Pauline Parmentier FRA 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 Wed
#20 s17 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #82 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-4, 6-2 Thu

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Katarina driving a forehand, and Vera driving a backhand

#21 s18 Marion Bartoli FRA d #151 q Andrea Petkovic GER 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 Wed
#22 s19 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #268 sr48 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 6-4, 6-3 Wed

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Tathiana's forehand drive

#23 s20 Sybille Bammer AUT d #136 q Olga Savchuk UKR 6-0, 6-3 Wed
#24 s21 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #40 Meilen Tu USA 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 Thu

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Ai's forehand, Meilen's backhand, and Ai after match point

*#85 Karin Knapp ITA d #25 s22 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 Thu
#26 s23 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #117 q Timea Bacsinszky SUI 6-3, 7-6(5) Wed
#27 s24 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #56 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 7-5, 6-4 Thu
#28 s25 Lucie Safarova CZE d #44 Nicole Pratt AUS 6-0, 6-1 Thu
#29 s26 Venus Williams USA d #77 Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-1, 7-6(8) Wed

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Venus firing a twist serve, Ashley following a backhand, and Venus after match point

    Venus delivered a 128 mph (206 kph) serve against Ashley, her fastest ever. Venus's previous best was 127 mph in 1998, which was the women's fastest serve on record until 35-year-old Brenda Schultz-McCarthy hit a 130 mph serve in a qualifying match in Cincinnati on July 15, 2006.

    About the 2nd set, Venus said: "I really just got over confident. I was just feeling like I couldn't lose and then it was even. So it was definitely a mistake that I've made before, not often. But I just felt like I had the match and I was playing loose shots and I really should have closed it out, because, you know, [Ashley] was competing well." interview - interview video

#30 s27 Samantha Stosur AUS d #42 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 Wed
#31 s28 Mara Santangelo ITA d #70 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-3, 6-2 Wed
*#104 q Alla Kudryavtseva RUS d #33 s29 Gisela Dulko ARG 7-5, 1-6, 8-6 Thu

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Gisela lining up a backhand, and Alla's forehand drive

*#124 q Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #36 s32 Martina Muller GER 6-3, 6-2 Thu
#37 Michaella Krajicek NED d #71 Shenay Perry USA 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 Wed
*#122 q Ioana Raluca Olaru ROU d #100 Tatiana Poutchek BLR 6-3, 6-0 Thu
#138 wc Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA d #181 q Kveta Peschke CZE 6-1, 6-1 Wed

    Stephanie said: "It all started very well, and I won very fast. So it was fine, because five minutes later it was raining, so I was quite happy." interview - interview video

French Open, 3rd Rd Fri-Sat Jun 1-2 11am
loser's prize: €39,400 = US $53,032 (2006: $44,620); points: 90
#1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #31 s28 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-2, 6-3 Fri

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Mara's service toss, Justine firing a forehand, after match point, and about to cut into her 25th birthday cake after the match

    Justine said: "At every level you have to work hard and fight on every point, and don't let the opponent come back in the match - but it's not easy. [Mara] has a pretty strange game, and the conditions were very difficult from the beginning of the tournament. But to win in two sets after a long day, it went pretty well...
    "I'm 25; that's a quarter of a century... I have a great group of people around me so it's priceless to me."

#2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #104 q Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6-1, 6-4 Sat

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Maria's flying forehand, Alla and Maria driving backhands, Maria after winning a point, and after match point

    Maria had five double faults, all in the 2nd set. Maria said: "I can't expect a lot from my [injured right] shoulder this week. Just try to loosen it up as the match goes on. Sometimes I feel it during the match, but it's normal. It's okay...
    "I figured [Alla] out pretty quickly. I think I played a pretty solid first set, but I had a little bit of a letdown. It was a bit strange. I was making a lot of unforced errors in a period of a very short time, and... I was happy that I was able to come back and find a way to win after being 3-All and 4-1 down to two breaks. But in a way, it was also lousy because I know not a lot of people are going to let me get away with that. So it's a good reminder for the future to not let that happen again." interview - interview video

#3 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #124 q Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-2, 6-3 Sat

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Svetlana twisting a serve and driving a forehand, Dominika meditating after losing a point,
Svetlana following a little backhand, and after match point

    Svetlana said: "I'm happy with the way I play today. I start feeling better and better with these balls and these conditions.
    "Shahar [Peer, Svetlana's 4th round opponent], she's very tough opponent. I lost to her twice this year. First time in Melbourne when I was not playing well. In Miami, I was 3-1 up, and, I think, 30-Love or something like that. So I pretty much had the match in my hands." interview - interview video

#4 s4 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #29 s26 Venus Williams USA 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 Fri

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Jelena twisting a serve, Venus driving a forehand, Jelena's backhand drive...

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...Jelena after match point, telling Venus there will be another day, and alerting the media

    2002 Roland Garros finalist Venus had reached the quarterfinals in 2004 and 2006. But Jelena is now 3-2 against Venus in career matches, and also defeated Venus in their last two meetings, most recently in the semis in April at Charleston on green clay, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). Jelena won the Charleston title the next day.

    Jelena said: "[In the 3rd set] I was really going for my shots. And I never had in my mind that I'm going to lose the match. I just wanted to go for it. In the second set I was a little bit tired. But in the third set I gave my best, and it paid off...
    "[Venus] was playing my forehand all the time, and when I had a chance to hit my backhand, I saw it like, 'oh, here it comes.' So I go for it, and really hit it pretty hard. But it was more of a forehand contest, because she also has a better backhand than her forehand. So we were both pushing this side...
    "Half of the balls I hit today I [would have] thought was going to be a winner against the other girls, and then against Venus, it is not. She gets them, and she makes a winner back...
    "I'm not really thinking about winning the tournament or anything. I'm just thinking about my next round, especially that I had such a difficult draw. Playing Venus in the third round is not something you want to see. But I am just going one match at a time. I have difficult opponents in my draw, and I just go out there and then fight and give my best. And who knows what will happen." interview - interview video

    Venus said: "The third set went a little bit faster than what I expected. but am I discouraged? No, not at all. I feel like I'm playing well, actually. I am disappointed that I lost but I feel like I'm playing well. I feel I'm serving well, moving well; I think I just got a little bit tired at the end." WTA story

    About her current coach, Jelena said: "He's not my full-time coach, so he doesn't like that I mention it yet. But he's helping me here and there, together with my mom, who is my No. 1 supporter and always in my box. But when he becomes officially my full-time coach, then I will announce his name."
    Times of London story on Jelena's "part time" coach Richard Brooks.

*#28 s25 Lucie Safarova CZE d #5 s5 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 6-3, 7-6(3) Sat

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Lucie lining up a lefty backhand, Amelie driving her one-hander, Lucie driving another backhand,
Lucie after match point, and meeting the press

    It was only the third biggest win of the year so far for giant-killer Lucie. She also defeated Amelie in the quarterfinals of this year's Australian Open, 6-4, 6-3, and a couple of weeks later defeated # 1 Justine Henin 7-6(5), 6-4, in the semis of the Paris indoor tourney.

    Lucie said: "It was very tough. I was very nervous at the beginning, because I know that the crowd is for [Amelie]. And I tried to just concentrate on each point...
    "If you are afraid, you cannot win against great players. You have to be aggressive." interview - interview video

    Amelie has not been satisfied with her play since an appendectomy earlier this year. Amelie said: "[Lucie] played very well. She played her match... I need to be [consistent] from the first match to the last one and to play your best possible tennis all the time. This is what I lacked today; this is what I lacked for a while since coming back after surgery." interview - interview video

#7 s6 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #30 s27 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-4, 6-4 Fri

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Nicole and Samantha driving forehands, and Nicole's backhand

#8 s7 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #122 q Ioana Raluca Olaru ROU 6-2, 6-0 Sat

    Ana said: "[Ioana is] a good player, and I was a little bit nervous today. And I had to work for points, because I didn't feel as comfortable there as the other two matches I played. So my serve was not working as well as it was last match. So I had to work hard for it. But I'm really happy I could win this match." interview - interview video

#9 s8 Serena Williams USA d #37 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-3, 6-4 Fri

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Serena lining up a backhand, Michaella launching one, and Serena after match point

#10 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #24 s21 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-4, 6-4 Sat

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Anna serving, Ai "reacting" as captions say (it looks like her wrist might be injured), Anna's backhand drive, and after match point

#11 s10 Dinara Safina RUS d #26 s23 Francesca Schiavone ITA 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 Fri

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Francesca twisting a serve, Dinara' driving a backhand, and after match point

*#27 s24 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #13 s12 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 4-6 7-6(2) 7-5 Sat

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Daniela and Anabel belting backhands, and Anabel calm, cool, and collected after match point

*#21 s18 Marion Bartoli FRA d #14 s13 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-2, 6-4 Fri

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Marion's backhand drive, and after match point

#15 s14 Patty Schnyder SUI d #85 Karin Knapp ITA 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 Sat

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Patty ready to lightly tap a forehand, Karin doing likewise with a backhand, Patty's backhand drive, and after match point

    Patty said: "I saw a little bit of [Karin's] match against [Alona] Bondarenko. And I saw the dangerous serve she has, the forehand, big forehand. It was kind of same against me. I think she was a little nervous at the beginning, and then she really came into the match.
    "And then I started to be a little nervous because I felt her presence and her game. And it was really tough to break her. She has a huge first serve and also the second serve, it's really fast and high bounce. And at the end it was just a matter of who can make those crucial points.
    "It was really the same level we were playing. And I think she has a big tournament now, and has many weapons she can improve." interview - interview video

#16 s15 Shahar Peer ISR d #20 s17 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 Sat

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Katarina and Sharhar firing forehands, and Shahar after match point

*#23 s20 Sybille Bammer AUT d #18 s16 Na Li CHN 6-4, 6-3 Fri no photos found
#22 s19 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #138 wc Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 6-3, 6-0 Fri

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Tathiana after match point

French Open, 4th Rd Sun Jun 3 11am
loser's prize: €66,250 = US $89,173 (2006: $76,582); points: 140
#1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #23 s20 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-2, 6-4

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Syblille serving, Justine following a backhand, Justine delivering a twist serve, and after winning a point

    Justine led 4-0 in the 2nd set, but Sybille closed the gap to 4-all. Justine said: "She started to play better. I lost a little bit my intensity also and started to do a couple of mistakes. But it was generally much more positive, I thought. And it's been a lot of fun for me today on the court. I really enjoyed my game. And it was good." interview - interview video

#2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #15 s14 Patty Schnyder SUI 3-6, 6-4, 9-7

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Patty firing a cannonball serve, Maria driving a forehand, Patty's backhand drive, Maria's running backhand...
Patty following a backhand, Maria driving one, Maria after match point, and Patty congratulating Maria

    Several breaks of serve were exchanged late in the 3rd set, during which Patty served for the match three times, and held two match points, but was unable to convert.
    Both players fastest serves round off to 117 mph (Maria 189 kph, Patty 188 kph). Maria put 70% of her 1st serves in, Patty, 60%. Maria hit 16 winners with 43 unforced errors (Patty: 9 winners, 27 errors), and Maria scored on 24 of 33 net approaches (Patty: 10 of 21) match stats.

    Maria said: "I figured I wasn't going to beat [Patty] by being a clay court player. I'm simply not a clay court player. I just started moving in and I started hitting the ball and attacking. It worked in the beginning, then I sort of started playing her game; the points became long and against her, if you're getting into 10 or 15-ball rallies, that's not really the way to play her...
    "It was exciting and I am grateful to have been part of it. Even if I had have lost, I would have been happy with the way I held in there." WTA story - BBC story

    Patty had reached the 4th round of a Grand Slam tourney for the 18th time, but she has won only five of those matches.

    Patty said: "It's a great thing to be in the fourth round so many times, but it's not too nice to lose many times in the fourth round; but those are two different things. I'll keep playing. I'm trying my best to break the fourth round stuff. We'll see."

#3 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #16 s15 Shahar Peer ISR 6-4, 6-3

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Svetlana serving, Shahar driving a backhand, Svetlana's powerful forehand drive, and after match point

    Svetlana said: "It's never easy to beat [Shahar], and I did few mistakes. And I was up 5-Love, Love-30, and I just thrash too much. And I knew she was dangerous and I was not playing well, but then I concentrated and make my serve well in 5-3...
    "Roger [Federer] said that he likes to watch me play... the Russian press told me so, and I thought like, 'No, it was a joke...' And I went to Internet last night and I read this. And it's if I would have to choose a compliment of anybody of, like, best thing to hear about myself, definitely it's the best I ever heard." interview - interview video

#4 s4 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #21 s18 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-1, 6-1

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Jelena's backhand backhand drive, Marion reaching for a high one, Jelena following another, and after match point

#7 s6 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #22 s19 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-3, 6-1

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Nicole launching a cannonball, Tathiana volleying a backhand, Nicole following a backhand drive, and after match point

    Nicole has changed her service motion this year. Nicole said: "The last year, I had some problems with my shoulder and just sat down with my physio and everybody to make it less stressful on the shoulder as possible. So I think it's working out well. I have the same speed, the same percentage, and it's not bothering me, and I haven't had problems with my shoulder since." interview - interview video

    About her quarterfinal opponent, Jelena Jankovic, Nicole said: "She's been playing great lately. She's won Rome already; she's in front of the world. She's a great player, definitely playing great lately. If I play her, I'm definitely looking just for a great match and having fun out there."

#8 s7 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #27 s24 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

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