An American In Paris: Serena Williams Alone At French Open
By Anton Lagani, Lawn Tennis Correspondent
Sunday, June 3, 2007

Serena Williams Friday outrallied teenager Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-4 to reach the fourth round of the French Open. Williams plays 10th seeded Russian Dinara Safina Sunday at 4:00am CST USA. Serena stands as the only American player male or female left in the Paris singles draw after her sister Venus Williams lost early Friday due in part to fatigue 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in round three.

Head to head Serena leads Safina 2-0, last winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in 2004 at Beijing. Safina is a solid player and very tall at 5' 11.5". Serena will need to keep playing aggressive and limit her errors. You may remember exactly one year ago in the round of sixteen, Safina upsetting fellow Russian Maria Sharapova 7-5 2-6 7-5 here on the terre battue. Serena however is a much better mover and slider around the courts than Sharapova was or is today. Also Serena excells on the clay surface even though it is her weakest surface unlike Sharapova.

Our Pick: Serena in two tough sets. This match will be good practice for the much anticipated quarterfinal versus world number one Justine Henin of Belgium.