French Open "Paris Picks"

The French Open - Roland Garros
May 25th-June 8, 2008
Paris, France

French Open "Paris Picks" - Day 6
By Tripp Mateschitz, Lawn Tennis Correspondent, Posted: Thursday, May 29, 2008 10:40pm CST USA

Maria Sharapova, French Open Roland Garros Day 6 Picks

Photo by Francois Guillo/AFP

PARIS, France (lawntennismag.com)—At the French Open Friday, most of the stars of tennis will come out to play on the terre battue as week one nears its end.

I'm for the most part not really seeing any upsets for tomorrow. Check back at our main French Open coverage page to track my Paris Picks record throughout the tournament.

Maria Sharapova of Russia won Wimbledon in 2004 at age 17.

Maria Sharapova (RUS)[1] v. Bethanie Mattek (USA)
Newly crowned world number one Sharapova led in this match 6-2 2-3 today before it was postponed until Friday. Sharapova should overpower Mattek to close this one out in straight sets.
Winner: Sharapova

Venus Williams (USA)[8] v. Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[26]
Pennetta defeated Williams in their prior meeting in straight sets, but Venus was not 100% last fall. And even though Pannetta has won two lower level clay tournaments earlier this year, I think Venus if she is moving forward and keeping her error count low will win in straight sets.
Winner: Williams

Serena Williams (USA)[5] v. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[27]
Serena is on fire and has only lost two matches this year. Srebotnik would have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to win a set from Serena.
Winner: Williams

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)[26] v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]
Nadal is 23-0 at the French Open and should move to 24-0. Nadal has outhit every player he has ever faced at the French Open which is remarkable.
Winner: Nadal

Wayne Odesnik (USA) v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[3]
American men have already done much better this year in Paris than in recent years, but Djokovic will be too consistent for Odesnik from the baseline.
Winner: Djokovic

Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)[28] v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[3]
19 year old Cibulkova reached the final of Amelia Island before losing to Sharapova earlier this spring. Jankovic took the title in Rome a few weeks ago but had a forearm injury in her prior match. Cibulkova could use this match as her coming out party. She has an opportunity but will she take it?
Winner: Cibulkova