|
Home>News Center>Sports | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Serena Williams wins first 8 games Serena Williams won the first eight games and overcame an erratic serve to beat Silvija Talaja 6-0, 6-4 Saturday in the third round of the French Open
Talaja won only three points on her serve in the first set. The Croat played steadier tennis for a stretch in the second set and led 4-3, but Williams won the final three games and closed the victory on the fourth match point when Talaja double-faulted.
Williams, the 2002 champion, became the tournament favorite when defending champ Justine Henin-Hardenne lost in the second round.
Jennifer Capriati took advantage of a mental mistake by Elena Bovina in the final game to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
Serving at 4-5 in the last set, Bovina failed to play a shot she thought was sailing long and lost the point when it landed on the baseline to make the score 15-all. Six points later, Capriati had the victory. She advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros for the eighth time.
"I've played well to get to this point," said Capriati, seeded seventh. "This is where I really expect the matches to get tough."
She'll next play No. 17 Francesca Schiavone, who beat Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-3. No. 6 Anastasia Myskina reached the round of 16 for the fifth time in the past six Grand Slam events by beating Denisa Chladkova 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Gisela Dulko, who eliminated 47-year-old Martina Navratilova and 32-year-old Conchita Martinez in the first two rounds, lost to 27-year-old Shinobu Asagoe 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Playing first on center court in sunny, 70-degree weather, Capriati won despite all-too-familiar troubles with her serve. She hit seven double-faults and was broken six times, including three times in the final set.
Bovina, seeded 25th, lost her serve eight times.
Capriati is seeking her fourth Grand Slam title and her second in Paris. She won the French Open in 2001.
The first tennis match Zheng Jie remembers watching on TV back home in China was her idol, Steffi Graf, against Monica Seles.
Now Zheng is following in her hero's footsteps — and in the fourth round. She became the first Chinese woman to advance that far in a Grand Slam event by beating Tathiana Garbin 5-7, 7-6 (1), 6-2 Friday.
The victory was even more impressive because Garbin's previous match was a victory over 2003 champion Justine Henin-Hardenne.
"At the beginning, my goal was to win in the first round, then the second round," Zheng said through a translator. "I never imagined I could win in the third round."
For her success at Roland Garros, Zheng is guaranteed about $66,600, but most of it will be returned to the Chinese tennis program. She said successful players from China provide financial support for the system that helps them progress.
"The Chinese tennis association spends a lot of money on the players to let them travel abroad," Zheng said. "All the expenses are covered." The nation is pushing to improve its tennis program before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, said Zheng, 21. At the moment, China is a land of 1.3 billion people and few tennis courts. Zheng's victory over Garbin will be good news back home. But big news? "This is only one match," she said. "I cannot say I'll become a big star. I'll try to play more tournaments. In the future, maybe I can be a star, but not after this match." A French Open title might do the job. No Chinese woman has won a WTA Tour event, much less a major championship. Zheng's opponent in the fourth round will be 14th-seeded Paola Suarez. |
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
