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 Matches: current - order - completed IBM Real-Time Scoreboard - stats Draws: W singles, .pdf - mix doub Women's: qualifying - singles - doubles Men's: qualifying - singles - doubles photos: Yahoo! news: US - France     tourney gallery - WTA photo gallery     news articles - player interviews Videos: player interviews - highlights Radio Roland Garros - US TV: ESPN 2 tourney schedule - venue map     website map Paris: weather sat & radar - forecast     Paris map - Paris news - France news # 1 J Henin, # 2 M Sharapova # 3 S Kuznetsova, # 4 J Jankovic information site for players 2006 RG Players Guide, .pdf

tourney archive: previous tourney page     next tourney page Roland Garros: #1 Justine Henin 5' 5¾", 126 lb, RH, 1H-BH Roland Garros: 6th Grand Slam Title Roland Garros: 4th French Open Title

Early round play at  Roland Garros begins at  11am local time. Roland Garros, Boulogne-Billancourt click for sat pic - venue map Court Phillipe Chatrier panorama Latitude: 48.846975 Longitude: 2.248002 goto link for World Wind France World Wind plugin (maps & aerial pics)     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. Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast

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.

WTA SCOREBOARD: French Open, Roland Garros 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Anna following a forehand #11 s10 Dinara Safina RUS d #112 Yuliana Fedak UKR 7-5, 6-4 Sun 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 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 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 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 Shahar's backhand #18 s16 Na Li CHN d #88 Sandra Kloesel GER 7-6(4), 6-0 ppd-Mon 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 Marion's 2-handed forehand with backhand grip #22 s19 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #51 Akiko Morigami JPN 7-6(2), 6-1 Mon 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Virginie and Milagros driving backhands #65 Tamira Paszek AUT d #79 Aiko Nakamura JPN 6-4, 6-0 Sun 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 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 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 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 Meghann and Svetlana driving backhands #4 s4 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #102 Catalina Castano COL 6-3, 6-3 Wed Jelena driving a forehand #5 s5 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #45 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-3, 6(3)-7, 6-1 Thu Amelie's running backhand #7 s6 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #206 q Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 6-2, 6-4 Wed Nicole following a backhand, and after winning a point #8 s7 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #52 Sania Mirza IND 6-1, 6-4 Thu 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 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 Anna's service toss, and Agnes & Anna driving backhands #11 s10 Dinara Safina RUS d #93 Tzipora Obziler ISR 6-1, 6-0 Wed 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 Elena's service toss #15 s14 Patty Schnyder SUI d #46 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 6-3, 6-2 Thu 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Jelena twisting a serve, Venus driving a forehand, Jelena's backhand drive... ...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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Anabel following a forehand drive, Ana volleying a forehand, after match point, and entertaining the reporters     Ana said: "It was great match today. [Anabel] played some really good tennis. And there was some stage where I think neither of us was making unforced errors. It was all winners. So it was a very tough match, but I'm really happy that I pulled through... My serve was working really well, which helped me to get through. And I saved some break points I was facing through the match." interview - interview video #9 s8 Serena Williams USA d #11 s10 Dinara Safina RUS 6-2, 6-3 Serena serving, Dinara's backhand drive, Serena's running forehand, and after match point     Serena said: "[My return of serve] was definitely better today. It came together in practice the other day. I was feeling a little bit better. And I knew if I could play the way I practiced, I would be able to do a good job." interview - interview video #10 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #28 s25 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 Anna and Lucie following righty forehand and lefty backhand, Anna's backhand drive, and after winning a point

French Open, QFs, Tue Jun 5 noon loser's prize: €125,000 = US $168,250 (2006: $143,371); points: 250 #1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #9 s8 Serena Williams USA 6-4, 6-3 career matches: Serena leads 6-4; Justine leads 4-1 on clay Justine's forehand, Serena driving a backhand, Justine's backhand... Serena lining up a forehand, Justine fielding a backhand, Serena saying "Its the Bat!" and Justine after match point     Justine said: "I'm very happy of the fact that from the first point until the end, I have been very focused. I didn't let her come back in the match except for two games in the beginning of the second set. And I just kept my serve, and I've been very, very concentrated and pretty aggressive when I had to...     "[Serena] didn't look very aggressive. She tried, I thought, in the first set a little bit. When I could control the rallies, when I could have good returns and everything, I was really in the point. And when I could make her run a little bit, it was easier for me." interview - interview video     Serena said: "Just everything was going wrong. Usually, I don't hit in the net, like I think I hit so many errors today. I hit in the net a lot. And it was very frustrating. It was like -- even the first set, I saw that she had won 30 points and I had won 29 on the stats, but it was just, like, I didn't win the right ones. And I was just making all the errors and just playing like a maniac...     "I think, all [Justine] had to do was show up. I thought that she did well, but I've played against her when she's played even better. I thought she played really well, though." interview - interview video #2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #10 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-3, 6-4 career matches: Maria leads 4-0 Maria launching a twist serve, Anna's backhand, Anna firing a cannonball, Maria's backhand, and after match point     Maria said: "I was pleased because [my injured right shoulder] held up, especially after the tough match. I didn't play too much yesterday, just hit a little bit, maybe 30 minutes. And I felt like I made good progress. That was a good challenge for it...     "I started the tournament having a good percentage of first serves, not hitting bombs. And today I feel more comfortable. I felt like I could hit the big serve. And at times I still felt my arm, but I felt like I could do it more consistently today and feeling good meanwhile...     "[My semifinal opponent Ana Ivanovic] actually plays pretty similar to Chakvetadze. So she hits the ball pretty flat and big. She's had some good success on this clay court season. So it will definitely be a very tough match and one I'll be looking forward to." interview - interview video     Anna has not been feeling well lately. Anna said: "Very bad I felt today... I feel for two, three days already, and I had a day off yesterday to I took it back and keep my energy for today's match, but it didn't work.     "In the first set when the score was 3-All, I felt really tired. But I just said to myself that if I go out -- if I went out to the court, I need to fight till the end, so I was trying to do that, but it was very difficult." interview - interview video *#8 s7 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #3 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 career matches: Ana leads 3-1 Ana driving a forehand, Svetlana after lightly tapping a backhand, Ana's backhand drive, and after winning a point     Ana said: "It was a very tough match. Everything was happening quite fast. First set was a little bit strange. I played some really good tennis. I was aggressive. And, I guess, [Svetlana] was a little bit nervous.     "But in the second set, still I had some chances. I broke her back, and on 3-2, I was serving, and I just lost a little bit tension in my serve and my strokes. So she used that opportunity very well.     "But I was really happy that from the beginning of the third, I could pull back and start being more aggressive again, and put pressure on her. And I used the opportunities I had." interview - interview video #4 s4 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #7 s6 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 6-3, 7-5 career matches: Nicole leads 4-3; Jelena 3 of last 4 Jelena following a forehand, Nicole and Jelena driving backhands, Nicole laughing at one of those funny tennis things, and Jelena after match point     Jelena said: "Vaidisova is a player who serves well, and she plays the short points. She just hits the good serve, and she waits for an easy ball, and then she just hits it hard. And she wants to finish the point so early. And I didn't have a chance, other than I have to bring her balls back in order to come back in the point and try to do something with the ball. But I was moving really well today, and I tried to defend her balls. And that's mainly what the key of the match was. I was just retrieving well, and happy to be in the semifinal for the first time here in Paris." interview - interview video     Both Jelena and Nicole, like Maria Sharapova, Anna Kournikova, and many others, recieved their primary training at the Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Nicole said: "[Jelena wasn't] at the academy for the last three, four years [that I was there]. So we haven't hung out together, worked out or played together. So we don't know each other much. We just bump into each other in the locker room and that's it. So no, no tension at all...     "[Jelena's] second serve is not as strong. There's a little weakness, so you have to work for it, set up the point, and I was trying that the whole match...     "I definitely had my opportunities. I definitely feel it's a little bit of lack of matches. Today some opportunities. But almost every game on her serve game, I had breakpoints. And I just didn't make those. But overall, I played a pretty good match, solid match, second set, especially. But she played tough. She's a tough girl, she fights and more credit to her." interview - interview video

In the semifinals on Thursday, 25 year old Justine Henin will play 22 year old Jelena Jankovic. Justine leads Jelena 5-0 in career matches, but all of their encounters have been 3-setters: 5-7, 6-4, 6-3; 4-6, 6-4, 6-0; 6(5)-7, 6-2, 6-4; 7-5, 2-6, 6-4; and 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Their last two meetings were in the past few weeks on red clay in the Warsaw semifinals and the Berlin quarters.     Justine said: "Even if I won all my matches against [Jelena], it's been in three sets. And last time, I've been a little bit too far, I was falling off in the third set. So I was very close to losing that match... She improved so much. She's a great player. She can play very well on the clay also... It's been a long fight every time. Is it going to be different on Thursday? No answer. But now, we'll see."     Jelena said: "I will try to do my best. I've never beaten [Justine] before. I will try to find a way somehow to win. And I will try to make the good tactic for her. I think I can do it; it's just a matter of staying concentrated and being mentally tough. Because I feel that I'm really, physically very fit, and I feel like I move so well on the clay."     In Thursday's other semifinal, 19 year old Ana Ivanovic will play 20 year old Maria Sharapova, who, like Jelena Jankovic, is a Bollettieri grad and a Bradenton, Florida, resident, although Maria spent more time recently at her "2nd" house in California while recovering from her shoulder and hamstring injuries. Ana and Maria are tied at 1-1 in career matches. Their first meeting was last October on a indoor hard court in Linz, Austria, where Maria won, 7-6(3), 7-5. Ana's win, in the semis of the Tokyo Pan Pacific Open earlier this year, came 6-1, 0-1 retired when Maria could no longer continue due to a left hamstring strain.     Maria said: "[Ana] actually plays pretty similar to Chakvetadze. So she hits the ball pretty flat and big. She's had some good success on this clay court season. So it will definitely be a very tough match and one I'll be looking forward to."     Maria had not yet won her QF at the time of Ana's interview. Ana said: "No matter who I play against, I'm going to try to play the best I can. And I have so many matches behind me now that I just want to go out there and enjoy it."

French Open, SFs, Thu Jun 7 2pm loser's prize: €250,000 = US $336,500 (2006: $286,742); points: 450 #1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #4 s4 Jelena Jankovic SRB 6-2, 6-2 career matches: Justine leads 6-0; all prior matches 3 sets Justine and Jelena driving forehands, Justine's backhand, after match point, and Jelena congratulating Justine     Justine said: "I was ready to play a tough match, because all our last meetings were pretty hard, and all my matches in three sets. So I did expect for a tough fight, and I was really ready to play hard on every point. And that worked pretty well from the first point until the end. I've been very intense. And tactically, I've played pretty heavy also on her forehand. And [Jelena] didn't like it that much. And so it was very good. Very positive today...     "It's going to be another tough match on Saturday. I just hope I can keep going. She's in great shape, Ivanovic. She won Berlin; she's playing great in this tournament. So the Grand Slam final is a very special match, and I hope it's going to be a good match, and that I can go to the end. But it's going to be tough, and I will have to be at my best level." interview - interview video     Jelena said: "It was disappointing for me to lose like this. But I think Justine was a way better player than I was today, for sure. No doubt about that. And all the credit to her. She just played really well, flawless. And when I had the chance, I didn't use it. So, for sure, all the credit, all I can say. And good luck to her in the final. But also good luck to Ana who is from the same country as I am...     "This was a bad day for me. I was not on my game and didn't have a good rhythm. Was making a lot of mistakes. Didn't have a good rhythm. But like I said, she was just too good... I played her so many times. I know how to play against her. But she didn't make any mistakes. She was just hitting the ball very clean. And I was not doing that. I was making mistakes. Played with sometimes the wrong shot at the wrong time. And bad day for me. What else can I say?." interview - interview video *#8 s7 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS 6-2, 6-1 career matches: Ana leads 2-1; Maria injured last match Ana delivering a twist serve, Maria driving a forehand, Ana's backhand, after match point, and Maria congratulating Ana     Ana said: "I think I played pretty good match. [Maria is] a tough player, and I was expecting very tough match. But I knew I had to be aggressive from the beginning. And that's what I tried to do, and it worked well for me. I didn't make many unforced errors and trying to put more pressure on her. And my serve worked well... She's aggressive player and she likes to dominate. And I knew she was not a great mover on the clay, so I tried to play more deep balls and put her under pressure and move her little bit more... Sometimes I think she was going for some bigger shots, but I was there, so it worked well for me." interview - interview video     Maria said: "It definitely was to [Ana's best] level. That was expected, especially how well she's been playing recently and the confidence she's come to this tournament with. She definitely carried that over... I still felt like I gave her the chances to open up the court. And I felt like she was always the one getting the first hit on the ball, so, that's not really the way I should have played... I would have liked [my serve] to be a little more effective... But she seemed to be jumping a lot at the serves. And I didn't do much with my return either. So giving her the first ball isn't exactly a great game plan...     "I started off slow... I had my chances, and when I did, I just made sloppy errors. I made a few swinging volleys in the net and long, which is usually my favorite shot, and also one of my best shots. I didn't feel like I quite had the rhythm today." interview - interview video

French Open, Final, Sat Jun 9 3pm (9am EDT 6am PDT NBC-TV) loser's prize: €500,000 = US $673,000 (2006: $595,319); points: 700 winner's prize: €1,000,000 = US $1,346,000 (2006: $1,207,335); pts: 1000 #1 s1 Justine Henin BEL d #8 s7 Ana Ivanovic SRB 6-1, 6-2 Justine delivering a serve, Ana launching a running forehand, Justine's backhand volley, pointing to coach Carlos Rodriguez after match point, and both ladies with the hardware

French Open, Doubles Final, Fri Jun 8 losers' prize: €145,000 = US $195,170 (2006: $170,825) winners' prize: €290,000 = US $390,340 (2006: $341,650) cdr84 s17 Alicia Molik & Mara Santangelo d cdr29 s7 Ai Sugiyama & Katarina Srebotnik 7-6(5), 6-4 Mara volleying a backhand while Alicia covers, Alicia and Mara after match point, and with the hardware Mara Santangelo official website French Open, Mixed Doubles Final, Thu Jun 7 losers' prize: €35,000 = US $47,110 (2006: $44,697) winners' prize: €70,000 = US $94,220 (2006: $74,495) *s8 Nathalie Dechy FRA & Andy Ram d s6 Katarina Srebotnik SLO & Nenad Zimonjic SRB 7-5, 6-3 Andy and Nathalie with the hardware after the match     Nathalie has won 3 WTA doubles titles and 1 WTA singles title; this was her first Grand Slam tourney title. The trophy was presented by 1967 women's singles champion Françoise Dürr.     Nathalie said: "Andy was supposed to be playing with Vera Zvonareva, my doubles partner, so we only got together at the last minute. To win here on centre court was just great and I hope to experience the same emotions in singles one day!." RG story French Open, Girls Singles Final, Sun Jun 10 c2 m2 s2 Alize Cornet FRA d Mariana Duque Marino COL 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 17-year-old WTA #118 Alize from Nice driving a backhand, 17-year-old WTA #322 Mariana congratulating Alize, and Alize with her nice new pizza pan     Alize is the first French girl to win the juniors title at Roland Garros since Virginie Razzano in 2000.     WTA player profile: Alize Cornet - Alize Cornet official website French Open, Girls Doubles Final, Sat Jun 9 noon c2 s3 Ksenia Milevskaya BLR & Urszula Radwanska POL d Sorana Cirstea ROU & Alexa Glatch USA 6-1, 6-4 Urszula and Ksenia with the hardware after the match French Open, Qualifying Finals Fri May 25 11am Q-1st loser's prize: €1,920 = US $2,584 (2006: $2,363); 2 points Q-2nd loser's prize: €3,600 = US $4,846 (2006: $4,431); 15 points Q-Final loser's prize: €7,200 = US $9,691 (2006: $8,862); 25 points #101 Agnes Szavay HUN d #147 Laura Pous Tio ESP 6-2, 6-1 #104 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS d #143 Jorgelina Cravero ARG 6-3, 6-4 *#206 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB d #108 Greta Arn GER 6-3, 6-2 #117 Timea Bacsinszky SUI d #188 Anda Perianu ROU 6-0, 6-4 *#136 Olga Savchuk UKR d #121 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-4, 6-3 Fri-Sat #122 Ioana Raluca Olaru ROU d #187 Angelika Bachmann GER 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 #124 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #157 Meng Yuan CHN 7-5, 6-2 #125 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE d #172 Maret Ani EST 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 #181 Kveta Peschke CZE d #130 Renata Voracova CZE 6-4, 6-4 *#151 Andrea Petkovic GER d #141 Emma Laine FIN 6-4, 6-2 *#255 Mariya Koryttseva UKR d #207 Alina Jidkova RUS 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 Fri-Sat #210 Rossana De Los Rios PAR d #287 Violette Huck FRA 6-3, 6-1 French Open, Withdrawals #6 Martina Hingis SUI right hip, leg & back #17 Tatiana Golovin FRA right foot #19 Vera Zvonareva RUS left wrist #32 Shuai Peng CHN left ankle #89 Karolina Sprem CRO wrist #604 sr92 Evgenia Linetskaya RUS left wrist

The 64 doubles teams, arranged in drawsheet order; teams in red have been eliminated:

TOP HALF s1 Lisa Raymond USA & Samantha Stosur AUS SF Eva Birnerova CZE & Sania Mirza IND R1 Jill Craybas USA & Yaroslava Shvedova RUS R1 Eleni Daniilidou GRE & Jasmin Woehr GER R2 Victoria Azarenka BLR & Anna Chakvetadze RUS R1 Klaudia Jans POL & Alicja Rosolska POL R2 Agnes Szavay HUN & Vladimira Uhlirova CZE R3 s13 Tathiana Garbin ITA & Meilen Tu USA R1 s12 Vania King USA & Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO R1 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI & Francesca Schiavone ITA R3 Pauline Parmentier FRA & Olivia Sanchez FRA R1 Aiko Nakamura JPN & Tamarine Tanasugarn THA R2 Florence Haring FRA & Violette Huck FRA R1 Shengnan Sun CHN & Tiantian Sun CHN R2 Nathalie Dechy FRA & Amelie Mauresmo FRA R1 s8 A. Medina Garrigues ESP & V. Ruano Pascual ESP QF s4 Kveta Peschke CZE & Rennae Stubbs AUS R3 Julie Coin FRA & Virginie Pichet FRA R1 Tamira Paszek AUT & Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE R1 Natalie Grandin RSA & Laura Granville USA R2 Martina Muller GER & Gabriela Navratilova CZE R2 Ashley Harkleroad USA & Mariya Koryttseva UKR R1 Corina Morariu USA & Patty Schnyder SUI R1 s16 Maria Elena Camerin ITA & Gisela Dulko ARG QF s11 Shahar Peer ISR & Dinara Safina RUS R3 Flavia Pennetta ITA & Roberta Vinci ITA R1 Ana Ivanovic SRB & Maria Kirilenko RUS R1 Jelena Jankovic SRB & Na Li CHN R2 Stephanie Foretz FRA & Camille Pin FRA R2 Alize Cornet FRA & Youlia Fedossova FRA R1 Lucie Hradecka CZE & Renata Voracova CZE R1 s7 Katarina Srebotnik SLO & Ai Sugiyama JPN F

BOTTOM HALF s5 Yung-Jan Chan TPE & Chia-Jung Chuang TPE QF Iveta Benesova CZE & Galina Voskoboeva RUS R1 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS & Tzipora Obziler ISR R1 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP & Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP R2 Mathilde Johansson FRA & Selima Sfar TUN R2 Aravane Rezai FRA & Julia Vakulenko UKR R1 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK & Akiko Morigami JPN R3 s9 Elena Likhovtseva RUS & Elena Vesnina RUS R1 s17 Alicia Molik AUS & Mara Santangelo ITA Alberta Brianti ITA & Karin Knapp ITA R1 Bethanie Mattek USA & Bryanne Stewart AUS R1 Andreea Ehritt-Vanc ROU & Anastasia Rodionova RUS R2 Severine Bremond FRA & Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA R1 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE & Shenay Perry USA R2 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP & M-J Martinez Sanchez ESP R3 s3 Zi Yan CHN & Jie Zheng CHN R1 s6 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER & Paola Suarez ARG R1 Michaella Krajicek NED & Agnieszka Radwanska POL R3 Sandra Kloesel GER & Virginie Razzano FRA R1 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS & Emma Laine FIN R2 Petra Cetkovska CZE & Lucie Safarova CZE R1 Alona Bondarenko UKR & Kateryna Bondarenko UKR R2 Sybille Bammer AUT & Julia Schruff GER R1 s10 Janette Husarova SVK & Meghann Shaughnessy USA QF s15 Vera Dushevina RUS & Tatiana Perebiynis UKR R3 Marion Bartoli FRA & Milagros Sequera VEN R1 Sophie Lefevre FRA & Aurelie Vedy FRA R2 Yuliana Fedak UKR & Kaia Kanepi EST R1 Olga Poutchkova RUS & Aleksandra Wozniak CAN R1 Vasilisa Bardina RUS & Tatiana Poutchek BLR R2 Emilie Loit FRA & Nicole Pratt AUS R1 s2 Cara Black ZIM & Liezel Huber RSA SF

s14 Svetlana Kuznetsova & Nadia Petrova withdrew from doubles and were replaced by Alberta Brianti & Karin Knapp

    The Roland Garros singles main draws were held on Friday, May 25 (the women's qualifying draw was held on May 22). As in 2006 the draw was semiautomatic: the unseeded players postions were by computer, after which the 32 seeded players were be drawn by hand.

    (May 30, 2007) 2004 French Open champion # 39 (and former # 2) Anastasia Myskina returned to action at Roland Garros on Wednesday. Unfortunately, Anastasia was still troubled by her injured left foot in her 1st round match, losing to # 66 Meghann Shaughnessy 1-6, 0-6.
    'Nastia 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.

    (May 31, 2007) French Open general director Jean-Francois Vilotte said: "Contacts have already been made and the works could start in 2009" on a new Roland Garros showcourt with a retractable roof to allow play to continue on rainy days. "Ideally, the 2011 French Open would take place on the extended venue." Reuters story

    (May 24, 2007 revised) # 17 Tatiana Golovin (right foot), # 19 Vera Zvonareva (left wrist), and # 32 Shuai Peng (left ankle), have unfortunately all joined # 6 Martina Hingis (right hip, leg & back) in withdrawing from next week's French Open due to injuries. # 89 (and former # 11) Karolina Sprem has also withdrawn; the reason for Karolina's withdrawal is not yet known.

    (May 23, 2007) Roland Garros will not have any form of instant replay gear installed for French Open call challenges this year--of course, on clay courts, ball marks are generally used to judge questionable calls. The US and Australian Opens both utilize the Hawkeye instant replay system on show courts, and allow players to challenge calls and request replays until they lose two challenges in each set. At Wimbledon in 2007, on Centre Court and Court 1, players will be allowed three incorrect challenge-video replays in each set, after which they can no longer challenge calls in that set. AP story

    (May 16, 2007) # 7 Martina Hingis has withdrawn from this years French Open to give a hip, leg and back injuries time to heal. Martina had already withdrawn from the Italian Open, where she was 2006 champion. Martina has won at Wimbledon and the US Open, and is a three-time Australian Open champion, but has not yet won at Roland Garros.
    On May 11, after suffering much pain during a loss to compatriot Patty Schnyder in Berlin, Martina said: "I'm not going to go and play tournaments unless I am 100 percent ready... [Withdrawing is] on my mind because I'm not going to make anybody happy, especially not myself, to go out there, and I don't know if it's going to get better that quickly."

    (Feb 26, 2007 revised March 17) On March 16, it was announced that equal prize money will be paid this year for the French Open at Roland Garros, the last Grand Slam tourney to do so. On February 22, the All England Tennis Club announced that henceforth they would pay equal prize money to men and women who play in The Championships at Wimbledon. The US Open has paid both genders equally since 1973; the Australian Open has for quite some time as well. The differential at Wimbledon and Roland Garros in recent years was only about 5%, so it was very strange that they did not make the move earlier.

  From the 2006 Roland Garros Players' Guide

    Of the €6,145,760 women's share of the prize money, €485,761 is paid directly to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

    15% of players' prize money is witheld from their checks for French taxes. US taxes are also witheld from the checks of players who reside in the US. Racquet stringing and personal match video costs can be deducted from prize money.
    Main draw players receive €230 per diem for accomodations (starting May 26 for players in singles, later for players only in doubles, ending 2 days after elimination). Coincidentally, the Radisson charges €230/day for a room ("special tournament rate!"), single or double; rates at other official tourney hotels are similar (as of May 22, 1 euro (€) is $1.29 US; €230 is $295.89).

    Players in singles receive a maximum of 3 guest badges for family, coach, or friends (permanent, nominally non-tranferable, if in doubles only, 2 badges). Those playing on Court Philippe Chatrier are entitled to 7 reserved seat invitations for that match; on Court Suzanne Lenglen 6 reserved seat invitations. Invites include access to players lounges and restaurants.
    There are 3 players’ lounges reserved for competitors, their family and coaches. The main players’ lounge at Court Philippe-Chatrier is reserved for players and their family. The lounge upstairs at Court Philippe Chatrier is also accessible to badges with the letter "Y," as is the lounge at Court Suzanne Lenglen.
    Each player has €28 "credited to their badge" for meals each day, from May 26 until 2 days after their elimination from the draw. This can be spent at the restaurants located at Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen.

    For some strange reason, "a large number of towels get lost."

  From the 2007 Roland Garros Official Drawsheet

    "All players who qualify by ranking for acceptance into the Main Draw of a Grand Slam Tournament will be entered automatically.
    "The ranking points earned by any player who qualifies for acceptance in the Main Draw of a Grand Slam Tournament must count on a player's ranking as one her best of seventeen (17) Tournament results.
    "Any player who is orginally accepted into the main draw, or becomes a direct acceptance and subsequently withdraws and therefore fails to play a Grand Slam Tournament, will automatically receive "0" points for the Tournament and it will count on the player's ranking as one of her best 17 Tournament results."


See also: QuickShop: Sporting Goods - Martina Hingis - Anna Kournikova

Current WTA Results & Tennis News (tennis home page) - 2007 WTA Schedule with links & photos

Link to hundreds of postmatch interview videos of WTA players at the 2007 WTA Player Interviews page.

WTA PhotoRankings: the current top 20 Women's Tennis rankings with player photos, links, and bio info.