After a week of exciting and high-quality tennis on the red clay at Roland Garros, sixteen women remain in contention to hoist the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen on the final Saturday.
The first half of the tournament has been action-packed. Several of the Tour’s marquee names have progressed, giving the tournament’s later rounds some much-needed star quality. On the other hand, we have witnessed some big upsets, creating openings in the draw that could allow some lesser-known talents to flourish.
Maria Sharapova’s successful return to Grand Slam tennis has captivated interest, while at the other end of the scale there was sympathy for Jelena Dokic, unfortunately struck down with a painful back injury when on the verge of upsetting No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva in round two.
There have also been matches shrouded in controversy. In her latest match, Serena Williams accused Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of cheating before battling through in three sets, while Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai repeatedly complained to the chair umpire about opponent Michelle Larcher de Brito’s ear-splitting shrieking in an acrimonious third-round clash.
These events and scenarios have set the stage for what should be an enthralling second week in Paris. We take a look at how the eight fourth-round matches will shape the event.
Who is in form going into the second week?
Jelena Jankovic has not lost before the semifinals at Roland Garros since 2006. (© PRPhotos.com)
No. 5 seed Jelena Jankovic has also progressed smoothly, slipping under the media’s radar in dropping just 10 games. She seems to be slowly regaining the form that took her to four titles and the No. 1 ranking in 2008, and will next face the unheralded Romanian Sorana Cirstea, who scored a shock victory over in-form Dane Caroline Wozniacki in the third round.
Svetlana Kuznetsova continues her strong form on clay, progressing to the fourth round without the loss of a set. The Russian No. 7 seed, who won in Stuttgart and reached the final in Rome, next faces No. 12 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who has also advanced without losing a set. This match-up may present some problems for Kuznetsova – the crafty Pole has won the last two times they met in Grand Slam play (at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2008) and has clinched three of their last four encounters.
Ana Ivanovic, Agnes Szavay, Virginie Razzano, Li Na and Cirstea have also progressed through the draw in Paris without conceding a set.
New faces
Samantha Stosur reached the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time (and for just the second time at a major) after her three-set upset win over Dementieva. It is arguably the biggest win of Stosur’s career, particularly heartwarming given her months away from tennis in 2007 and 2008 due to Lyme disease. The Australian will look to build on this result when she takes on Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano, an experienced campaigner who seems to be handling the notorious home-crowd expectations with aplomb. Stosur leads the head-to-head 1-0, but Razzano should enter the match with no pressure, having already recorded her career-best result at Roland Garros and being the lower-ranked of the two players.
Aleksandra Wozniak is enjoying the form of her life, reaching the final sixteen at a Grand Slam for the first time and entering the event as World No. 24, her career-best ranking. The Canadian has the daunting task of facing Serena Williams, but may fancy her chances – clay is Williams’ least-favourite surface, and the World No. 2 has looked far from convincing in her run to the fourth round, having been extended to three sets twice.
Hungarian Agnes Szavay grabbed attention with her shock 6-0, 6-4 win over Venus Williams in round three. Szavay burst onto the scene in 2007 with a run to the US Open quarterfinals, victory at the China Open and ascent to World No. 13, but has since fallen away, dropping to No. 38 before the Madrid event. This is her first appearance in the fourth round in Paris, and she will take on pocket-rocket Dominika Cibulkova. Szavay has won all three of the pair’s matches, but they have not played for two years. Cibulkova enjoyed a fourth-round finish in Melbourne and is the higher ranked of the two.
Best fourth-round match-ups
Ana Ivanovic versus Victoria Azarenka
This has to be the critic’s choice. After nearly 12 months of patchy play, Ivanovic seems to have found the form that carried her to the title last year, dominating her second and third-round opponents after struggling past Italian Sara Errani in round one. Azarenka comes into the match on the back of an impressive win over the dangerous Carla Suarez Navarro, whose clay court nous prompted many to pencil in an upset. With her confidence soaring after a career-best season to date, Azarenka could pose serious trouble for the Serbian, but of the pair, Ivanovic’s game is probably better suited to clay. Expect a thrilling battle between the tournament’s No. 8 and No. 9 seeds.
Maria Sharapova versus Li Na
By this point, Sharapova must be feeling the effects of her grinding French Open campaign. Entering the tournament short of match fitness after missing nearly 10 months of competitive tennis, she has fought past three opponents in consecutive three-set matches – including a gutsy victory over No. 11 seed Nadia Petrova in round two – to take her place in the last sixteen.
Her next foe, Li Na, is making her fifth appearance in the second week of a major, and has looked in impressive form on the Parisian clay. However, the Chinese player has only once progressed beyond the last sixteen (at Wimbledon in 2006), and has never taken a set from the Russian in four previous meetings. She may fancy her chances this time, with Sharapova openly admitting that she does not feel comfortable playing on clay. Will Li become the first Chinese to progress to the Roland Garros quarterfinals, or will Sharapova’s fighting qualities shine through once again?
The road ahead
Should the seeds hold, there are plenty of scintillating battles tennis fans can look forward to. Chief among these is the potential quarterfinal clash between Safina and Ivanovic, a repeat of the 2008 final. With both women looking very sharp, it promises to be an absorbing affair.
Another possible quarterfinal battle is between Serena Williams and Kuznetsova. Kuznetsova’s game should match up favourably against the American’s on clay, and would give her a chance to avenge her disappointing loss to Williams in the 2009 Australian Open quarterfinals (in which she served for the match but eventually lost). However, despite looking shaky early in the tournament, Williams is notorious for playing her way into form at Grand Slam events, and has the experience and game to beat any player on any surface.
Tournament organisers will hope that Sharapova continues on her merry way – should she reach the semifinals, her opponent could be fellow grunter Azarenka, fellow glamazon Ivanovic, or fellow Russian Safina. A match against Safina would be particularly intriguing given the pair’s history of arduous French Open battles (see Roland Garros 2006 and 2008).
Then there is the potential final that many will be hoping for – a title clash between the world’s top two women, Safina and Williams. Safina is the official World No. 1 and the Tour’s form player, while Williams claims she is the world’s best, having won the last two majors and defeating Safina in the final at Melbourne Park. It would be billed as the match to decide the “real” World No. 1, and could go down to the wire as both competitors vie for supremacy.
It promises to be one of the most exciting second weeks of a major for some time. Game on.
Matt Trollope is a journalist from Melbourne, Australia. He has covered the past two Australian Opens for the tournament’s official website.
