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Roddick Stays on Course For Final

Monday, June 27, 2005

If Andy Roddick felt in the mood for a pleasant stroll in the English summer sun on Monday, he certainly got it. His last 16 meeting with Guillermo Coria was such a leisurely affair that were it not for the 106-degree heat on No.1 Court, and a brief Coria fightback at the end of the second set, the American would barely have broken sweat.

As it was he beat the No.18 seed 6-3, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 for a place in the quarter-finals, sealing the match with an ace.

Coria probably won't feel too aggrieved. This was easily the most fruitful of his four Wimbledon visits today, and before this he had only once breathed the heady air of the second round. So to reach the second week and the last 16 was exotic territory indeed for him. Not that he had got this far without a few adventures. For one thing, in the third round he came back from two sets to love down for the first time in his career. But what's more extraordinary for a player of 23-year-old Coria's experience is that in the second round he came back from two sets to one for the first time in his career.

Unfortunately there was never going to be any coming back against the 2003 US Open champion, although Coria rallied briefly at the end of the second set, pulling back Roddick's early gain. But come the tie-break, the American's grasscourt superiority told.

Of course Roddick had not only won all four of their previous encounters, but also arrived at Wimbledon having lifted the trophy at Queen's for the third year running. Early on in this match the American surrendered a sprinkling of break points, and perhaps Coria misguidedly took heart from Roddick's own second round five-set struggle late last week. But No.1 Court belonged to the American on Monday afternoon, and he was on a mission to evict Coria from his property with all speed.

It was largely to be expected. Coria may have won eight titles to date, but none has been on grass. Moreover, his claycourt season in 2005 could not match the dizzy heights of last year, where he strung together a 31-match winning streak on clay until he was beaten in the Roland Garros final by Gaston Gaudio. This year his best achievement has been the finals in Monte Carlo and Rome, where the one-time world No.3 lost to Rafael Nadal both times.

So Roddick, ranked four in the world, is continuing his progress through the draw, despite the controversy over his No.2 seeding at Wimbledon. His second round defeat last month at Roland Garros to Jose Acasuso seems to have damaged him not one jot. As Roddick's half of the draw is a Federer-free zone, a repeat of last year's men's final - the 22-year-old American's best Wimbledon to date - is looking a good bet.

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Andy Roddick plays a powerful forehand drive during his match against Guillermo Coria

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Roddick signs autographs after his match against Guillermo Coria

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Guillermo Coria blasts down a backhand return during his match against Andy Roddick

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Hewitt Dents Taylor's Run

Monday, June 27, 2005

Lleyton Hewitt was particularly focused when he opened proceedings on Centre Court today. The Australian, seeded No.3 despite his world ranking of two behind Roger Federer is keen to regain the Wimbledon title. He was, however, very conscious of the fact that his opponent, Taylor Dent, had kept him on court for three-hours and six-minutes the last time they met on grass.

This time their clash lasted one-minute over three hours with the outcome going Hewitt's way, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3.

In that 2001 third round match, Hewitt clawed his way back from a set down to win in the fifth. This time, a steely eyed Hewitt came out guns blazing and within13-minutes had established a 4-0 lead, denting Dent's heavy serves with some blinding returns.

The American, only recently returned to the circuit following an ankle injury, finally overcame his hesitant start, breaking Hewitt in the eighth game to start applying pressure real pressure. And as a consequence, Hewitt's first set dominance was not so evident in the second as the American 24-year-old's serve and volley game started to make an impression. He also managed to embroil the 24-year-old Aussie in lengthy exchanges, bringing out the best in both players.

The lob became a more evident weapon against Dent, but was used sparingly. Similarly, Hewitt's advances to the net were rare but on those occasions that he did venture forward, he was inevitably successful. The third set became crucial and was consequently hard fought, neither player able to gain any advantage until the tie-break where, again, Hewitt took command only to waste two match points with errant groundstrokes. Dent snatched the set on his second opportunity.

For those who remember their clash in 2001 there was a touch of déjà vu as Hewitt then also squandered two match points, albeit in the fourth, before going on to claim victory in the decider. On this occasion, it took another 40 minutes before he was again poised to win the match and this time he didn't let it slip away, jumping with delight as he watched a Dent return drop just long.

In his next match Hewitt faces another player who likes to hit a big serve. Feliciano Lopez is the surprise quarter-finalist but having dealt with 18 aces from Dent, and hit 11 of his own, Hewitt can look ahead with confidence.

Written by Henry Wancke

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Murray Fairytale Over

Monday, 27 June, 2005

And so the Andy Murray fairytale is over. Well, for this year at least. The young man from Dunblane, who gave the British faithful something to cheer after the early departures of Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, packed his bags and headed for the airport. He and Shaha Peer were knocked out in the first round of the mixed doubles by Lucas Arnold and Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-3, 6-4.

This was the last remnants of Murray's Wimbledon dream. It had been a fantastic ride on the wave of patriotic fervour that had carried him through to the third round in the singles on his Wimbledon debut. What comes next is a lot of hard graft and the desperate chase for ranking points to climb the ATP ladder.

From here, he goes to Newport, Rhode Island, for the Campbell's Hall of Fame Championships, a main tour grass court event. On the evidence of his performances at Wimbledon, he could be in with a serious chance of scything through a few rounds but, then again, he could just as easily lose in the opening round. It would not be for a want of talent but rather that the events of the past few weeks will have to catch up with Murray at some point.

Luckily, Murray is a sensible soul and, guided by his extremely sensible mother, Judy, he is more than aware that the hard work starts now. From the moment he started winning matches at Queen's Club to the moment he finally ran out of puff against David Nalbandian on Saturday, Murray was a national hero. But once Wimbledon is over, he will return to the anonymous ranks of the young hopefuls, grinding it out at the smaller events.

The Newport gig has come courtesy of a wild card but after that it is back to the Challenger circuit and the hope that another tournament director of a main tour event offers him another invitation to play with the big boys. After the experiences of the past few days, Murray knows full well that he can mix it with the old pros.

"Against David Nalbandian, while the win would have been amazing, it wasn't everything," Judy Murray said. "The important thing is that, when he was fresh, he proved he could match a guy like that for tennis, which is encouraging. All he needs now is to improve his fitness.

"The learning experience and the fun haven't all been restricted to matches though. Everything that has happened this week has taught him something. He has handled the media very well for someone who has only just turned 18 but he has learned that sometimes the facts get lost somewhere along the way."

Peer knows all the facts about Murray and has done since they were both starting out on the junior circuit at the age of 12. Watching him play for Britain against Israel in the Davis Cup tie in February, she emailed her old sparring partner during the French Open and asked him if he would play the mixed doubles with her.

While he agreed to the partnership, Murray has been a wee bit busy over the past few weeks. With no time to practise, they were playing it all by ear. That worked to a degree but an early break in the first set left them playing catch up and, over the course of two sets, they never did quite catch Arnold and Gagliardi.

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Johansson Overcomes Mirnyi

Monday, June 27, 2005

Ahead of the match the officials checked carefully that the net was solidly in its place. But although Max Mirnyi rained aces on his opponent - as might be expected for the man who sits atop the ace leader board, with 74 for the tournament - he could not match his more versatile opponent.

Too many unforced errors, at crucial times, decided the fourth round match for Thomas Johansson, No.12 seed from Sweden. To the delight of the packed stand at Court No. 13, the match, even though over in straight sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, offered entertaining baseline rallies accompanied with Mirnyi's volleys and Johansson's line-splitters and drop shots.

Mirnyi started well, opening the match with three aces on his way to serving the Swede to love. But Johansson also took his first game to love with two aces. Mirnyi struggled to hold serve in the third game, and was beaten when serving at 3-3 due to unforced errors. Serving at 4-5 down he managed to save set point and took a 13-ball-long deuce to secure one more game in the set. In that game he saved two set points but an ace the Swede produced with his second serve guaranteed him the set.

This was not surprising, as Johansson had previously beaten Mirnyi in all four of their encounters, losing just one set in the process. On the other hand, that one set was on grass, in Nottingham last year.

The second set started no better for Mirnyi as he was broken immediately, a wild forehand giving the game to the Swede. After this, Mirnyi had his best spell of the match, consistently serving aces, successfully serving and volleying when the occasion demanded it, and even winning some long baseline rallies.

But serving at 5-5 his game went to pieces and he was broken to love, Johansson even hitting a direct winner off Mirnyi's second serve. Johansson then went on to easily hold and take the set.

Mirnyi's partner in the Gentlemen's Doubles is Jonas Bjorkman, Johansson's compatriot. "I am going to press him for some tips," Johansson had told the Swedish tabloid Expressen ahead of the match. Whatever the reason, Johansson successfully exploited Mirnyi's inconsistency on the baseline and tried to avoid his powerful forehand.

Johansson raced to a 2-0 lead in the third set. Mirnyi had his final break point of the match with Johansson serving at 2-1 but failed to convert it. Johansson didn't look back.

Before the match Johansson, the only Swede left in the Gentlemen's Singles draw, had told the Swedish press, "I am more and more confident that I can win Wimbledon." In his first quarter-finals at the All England Club he faces No.18 seed David Nalbandian of Argentina.

Written by Jukka Viskari

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Venus Gains Revenge for Serena

Monday, June 27, 2005

Venus Williams gained revenge for sister Serena when she booked her seventh quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon today.

Serena, a two-times Champion, had lost to veteran Jill Craybas on No.2 Court on Saturday. But Venus, also a double title winner, returned to the same court and opponent to sweep through 6-0, 6-2 in a mere 63 minutes

Much was made of sister Serena's tearful exit against Craybas which denied the Williams sisters a last-16 meeting against each other. The Sister Act has been so much a part of Wimbledon. Serena overcame Venus twice in the finals of 2002 and 2003.

Thirty-year-old Craybas's greatest win gave her the chance of trying to complete back-to-back victories over a pair of sisters who were once predicted to dominate tennis for a decade at Wimbledon. The incentives do not come much higher. However, then comes the realisation that to climb Mount Everest once is hard enough, but to do it again two days later is perhaps asking too much.

The aura of both Williams sisters has been fading of late. The likes of Belgian pair Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, evergreen Lindsay Davenport, the 1999 champion, Amelie Mauresmo and, of course, Wimbledon Champion Maria Sharapova have proved they are no longer invincible. The physicality of their game no longer intimidates their main rivals.

Craybas also had to bear in mind that when she defeated Serena on Saturday, she faced an opponent who had injury problems and lacked match practice.

In contrast, Venus was plenty sharp enough today to dismantle Craybas in a baseline battle. The 25-year-old Venus's serve was in full working order in the first set. Her powerful ground stokes proved too much for the diminutive Craybas, who was giving away plenty of inches and strength to her fellow American.

Craybas disappeared for a medical break at the start of the second set and the mood of the match altered. Suddenly Venus lost the rhythm on her serve, double-faulting twice before being broken. So, 2-0 to Craybas. But the mini-crisis did not last long. Venus regained her composure to return to the fine form she had shown in the opening set. Normal service was resumed she quickly took the next six games.

Written by Mike Donovan

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Mauresmo Marches On

Monday, June 27, 2005

Amelie Mauresmo cruised into the quarter-finals with a swift and simple 6-4, 6-0 win over Elena Likhovtseva.

She rather likes Wimbledon because not only does she have the game for grass - she can play almost any shot and, when she takes her courage in both hands, she has a rather impressive volley - but she also revels in the relative anonymity that Wimbledon can offer.

At the French Open - where she also has the game for clay - the pressure is almost unbearable. The local hope and the sentimental favourite elsewhere, the expectation all gets too much for her. Time and again she has headed for Paris in the form of her life only to crumble when she gets to Roland Garros.

But, once her business in France is done, she can come to London and just get on with the tennis. And she loves the tradition and that funny green stuff beneath her feet.

"It is a special surface," she enthused. "I adjust my game to that surface, some don't. I like to think that playing on grass is going forwards, is serve and volley, return and volley sometimes. It's a mix of all of these things. Actually I'm enjoying doing that."

As for Wimbledon itself, she has fond memories of her trips here over the years. "I won the Wimbledon junior title a few years ago," she said, "but after that, in the pros, I didn't really translate that into good feelings on the senior circuit. I think it was like in 2002 I thought to myself: OK, you're going to go to the net and that's all you are going to do - and it worked out pretty well so that's what I did for the next few years."

It certainly worked out well against Likhovtseva. The Russian doubles specialist reached her first Grand Slam semi-final just a few weeks ago at the French Open but today was not able to deal with a combination of the grass, the occasion and Mauresmo. She kept pace for much of the first set as they exchanged breaks with remarkable regularity but once in to the second set, it was one-way traffic.

So Mauresmo is through to the last eight for the third time in four years - she did not play in 2003 - and is, so far, enjoying the ride. This is nothing like home - and that is the best part about Wimbledon.

"The difference is amazing, I think," she said. "After the French Open, I'm always a little bit down and then, suddenly, I'm going to England and at Wimbledon, it feels so much different. I am taking things much more easily and it's funny because I see Tim Henman going through the same things I went through a couple of weeks before. So it's pretty amazing."

Written by Alix Ramsay

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Sharapova Soldiers Past Dechy

Monday, June 27, 2005

It was exactly this time last year that observers were beginning to wonder if Maria Sharapova might be able to win the Wimbledon title. Twelve months on and they are beginning to wonder if she can hang on to her crown. True, she has yet to drop a set in her current campaign. Yet by the standards of a Slam champion her play is somewhat ragged and unconvincing, and on Monday she was less than devastating in defeating Nathalie Dechy 6-4, 6-2 for a place in the quarter-finals.

What this adds up to is situation normal for Sharapova in 2005. The highest-earning female sports star on the planet has reached the last eight or better in all nine of the events she has played to date this year. Moreover, she has won Tokyo, Doha and Edgbaston.

But in the biggest tournaments the world No.2 has foundered, losing in the Australian semi-finals to Serena Williams and the French semi-finals to Justine Henin-Hardenne. Both opponents went on to win those respective titles, so if any player beats Sharapova in SW19 this week, she may have good reason to be optimistic. At the highest level, the Russian has fallen short, and hence has failed to dislodge Lindsay Davenport from the world No.1 spot.

If matters are to change this week, Sharapova will need to find more than she could manage against Dechy, especially in the first set. Early on the Russian was overhitting, and frequently berating herself. Dechy had half-chances but could not take them. The 16th seed - a semi-finalist herself in Australia this year - regularly reached 0-30 and 15-30 on the Sharapova serve, but could not draw blood.

Perhaps sapped by the 106-degree heat of the burning sun on Court One, not once during the match did Dechy earn a break point. It was only a matter of time before Sharapova punished her, and an excellent backhand return brought the first set break for 4-3. This, despite the fact that Sharapova did not capitalise when Dechy's serve fell short. Moreover, the Russian produced twice as many unforced errors as her opponent, but all Dechy's mistakes seemed to come on the crucial points. Sharapova served out the first set with an ace.

It was a pity, because Dechy's game has seen something of a resurgence since she signed up Sven Groenefeld - who has previously worked with Mary Pierce and Greg Rusedski - to coach her last October. This, combined with her marriage last September, seems to have helped her no end. (Incidentally, her wedding was attended by Amelie Mauresmo, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Sandrine Testud, Mary Pierce and Tatiana Golovin, proving that 26-year-old Dechy is nothing if not popular with her fellow players.)

This was her 10th Wimbledon campaign, and in making the fourth round she had equalled her previous best achievement, in 1999. But she needed to get forward if she was to have a chance in the match. She played frequently to Sharapova's forehand, because the backhand was doing too much damage. But it seemed that from the moment the first set was gone Dechy lost heart. When Sharapova served out to love to take the match, it seemed symbolic of the whole encounter. Nonetheless, the Russian will need to do more than this if she is still to call herself Wimbledon champion this time next week.

Written by Kate Battersby

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Hewitt Eyes Lopez Challenge

Monday, 27 June, 2005

Lleyton Hewitt's bid for a second Wimbledon title to go with the one he won in 2002 moved a step nearer fulfillment at The Championships today when he repelled the serve-volley attack of Taylor Dent in impressive fashion.

This is the third time in five years Hewitt has got to the last eight, so he remains on course for a semi-final against the champion, Roger Federer, provided he can fight off the surprise surge of Spain's Feliciano Lopez in Wednesday's quarter-finals.

Hewitt is happy with his form after having missed two months of this season because of a toe operation and two cracked ribs. He did not come back to the tour until the grasscourt tournament at Queen's, so claims he is still feeling his way back. "I feel like I'm hitting the ball well and my game went up another notch or two today, which it needed to," he said after beating Dent. "I knew it was going to be a dangerous match, so I was glad I was able to play better when it mattered.

"I felt there was a question mark against me because I hadn't played that many matches coming into this tournament. It was especially important for me to get through the first week, just to find a way to get through those matches.

"Now you come up against the name players, the real challengers for the title. That's when you've got to play your best tennis. But I'm still a long way from holding the trophy."

This is only Hewitt's sixth tournament of 2005, but the fact that he won the Sydney title and lost in the finals of the Australian Open and Indian Wells has helped his confidence. "I go out there and I play to win. I expect to win. So obviously I'd love to hold the trophy up. But there are still three matches before I can do that. The names get tougher and tougher. So I'll go out there and give it a hundred per cent, leave it all out there on court. For me, that's a success."

As for Lopez, Hewitt describes him as a 'different' Spanish player from the normal run of baseliners. Although inexperienced in the later stages of a Grand Slam, Lopez remains dangerous in Hewitt's opinion because he has played for Spain in the Davis Cup: "So he knows about big-time situations," Hewitt said.

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Myskina Wins Battle of Russians

Monday, June 27, 2005

It was always going to be a fairly equal contest when Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva took to Court 13 for their fourth round contest this afternoon.

Both Russians are aged 23, both are seeded in this tournament - No. 9 and No. 6 respectively - and both have struggled to reach this stage of the draw.

Throughout last week, Dementieva's serve has raised a few eyebrows. Should someone who is ranked No.5 in the world really be serving 17 double faults in a match - the tally recorded in her second round win over German qualifier Sabine Klaschka? It was this poor performance that saw her trail 4-2 in the third set, before clawing her way back to clinch the match 8-6 in the third.

Myskina, who owns a world-ranking of 10, has also had her fair share of trouble on the way to the fourth round. She fought tooth and nail to scrape through her first round match against a qualifier ranked 146 in the world. She eventually won 6-4 in the third, but the match was a solemn affair for the 2004 French Open winner, who beat Dementieva in that Grand Slam final.

Myskina's game was littered with unforced errors, 40 to be precise, and these mistakes made an appearance in the first set against her fellow countrywoman today. In particular, Myskina's footwork was slow. On more than one occasion she was late reaching balls which, when she finally got to them, often floated out or found the bottom of the net. Admittedly, her leg was strapped. According to the Women's Tennis Association, this was purely for preventative measures, but it looked to be affecting her game.

Within 17 minutes she was 5-1 down. A couple of minutes later, the set had escaped her and, 10 minutes on, she faced the daunting reality of being on the wrong end of 3-0. All she could do was stare helplessly at her camp.

But then she broke Dementieva's serve to mark the start of a comeback trail that saw the second set climax in a tie-break. Hardhitting baseline rallies ensued with balls being positioned beautifully as the inconsistency that dogged Myskina in the first set all but disappeared. She saved two match points to take the second set tie-break 11-9. Armed with a renewed confidence, the dark-haired Russian raced to a 3-0 lead in the third.

Dementieva was not going to give up though and aggressive play secured her the following two games. At 4-4, Dementieva was broken and at 5-4 Myskina held two match points.

But a gutsy performance by her fair-haired opponent put an end to her hopes of taking the match there and then and Myskina was subsequently broken for the score to reach 5-5. She broke back immediately and then held her own serve to win the match and set up a quarter-final meeting with No.3 seed Amelie Mauresmo.

Written by Helen Gilbert

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Nalbandian Nails Gasquet

Monday, June 27, 2005

David Nalbandian reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon today with a comfortable 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0 victory over 19-year-old Richard Gasquet.

Nalbandian took just 2hr 15min to seal his place as Gasquet's challenge faded away in the final set, as did the one offered the Argentinian by Britain's 18-year-old whizz-kid Andrew Murray in the previous round.

Gasquet is one third of the teenage triumvirate which has captured the hearts of Wimbledon this year. With Murray and Rafael Nadal of Spain knocked out , it fell to the Frenchman to carry the youth flag into the last eight.

He was, just five days beyond his birthday, the youngest player left in the Main Draw, which began with eight teenagers and still included five of them up to and including the third round.

He came into the tournament hot to trot. Winning his first tour title at Nottingham on the day he was 19 saw him move up to world No.27 and end Sebastien Grosjean's four-year reign as French No.1.

Gasquet also had a remarkable run after returning to action in March following chicken pox and injury, winning 39 of 44 games. Wimbledon champion Roger Federer was among his victims.

He has been hailed as France's great hope since his picture appeared on the front of a sports magazine 10 years ago proclaiming how bright his future could be.

Gasquet lived up to the billing as a junior by becoming the youngest ever world No.1 at 16, and it has looked this past week or so like he has the potential to make the big-time amongst the grown-ups.

Today he faced an opponent who had disposed of Murray in a thrilling five-set match on Centre Court. Just how much defying the wild card Scot and the partisan home crowd had taken out of Nalbandian physically and emotionally was up for question. And the answer was simple: nothing.

Nalbandian, his long hair pulled back by a bandana, looked fresh as he let rip his powerful groundstrokes which put pressure on the Gasquet serve.

But the tousle-haired Gallic pretender sealed his own fate in the opening set by gifting his serve with a series of errors.

Even in the second set, Gasquet's form was erratic. He led 3-0 but in the blink of an eye it was 3-3.

He muttered French oaths beneath his breath as he struggled to find his rhythm again.

Nalbandian, meanwhile, maintained his cool, apart from one brief line-call dispute, and his unfussy style of trying to belt the felt off the ball, while occasionally slipping in a drop shot for good measure, proved effective.

Gasquet hung on to his serve in the second set but was outpunched in the tie-break before fading away in the third.

The Argentine might be unfashionable compared to the charismatic French youngster, but he knows how to win tennis matches.

Nalbandian, seeded 18, has proved a consistent performer in Grand Slams since he unexpectedly reached the 2002 Wimbledon final, where he lost to Australian Lleyton Hewitt. He made the semi-finals of the French and US Opens and made the last-16 of The Championships in 2003.

He has had to come back from personal tragedy - with his father Norberto dying at the end of last year - and, after a respectable run to the last-eight in the Australian Open, his form has been inconsistent.

But Nalbandian, who missed The Championships through a stomach muscle problem last year, is clearly back on track as he increased his record against French players to 14-5.

Written by Mike Donovan

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Kuznetsova Takes Control

Monday, June 27, 2005

Svetlana Kuznetsova, the No. 5 seed from Russia, moved swiftly into the last eight of The Championships with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Magdalena Maleeva.

The US Open Champion had to fight hard for her victories over Sania Mirza and Nicole Vaidisova in previous rounds but it seemed today that those challenges had only inspired Kuznetsova to raise her game.

The 19-year-old Russian simply had too much firepower for her 30-year-old Bulgarian opponent. However, Maleeva, who was playing her 12th Wimbledon, had done well to reach the fourth round considering she had not won consecutive matches since February.

But in front of a lively crowd on Court 18 today, there was never any chance of her run continuing as she was outplayed by her bigger, more powerful and much younger adversary.

After an early exchange of breaks, at 4-4 in the first set Kuznetsova began to take control. Whilst Maleeva began to struggle with her inconsistent serve, Kuznetsova's was working well. The first set saw her fire down seven aces and 10 service winners as she strolled to a 6-3 advantage.

The second set was an even more one-sided affair and, for the first time this Championship, Kuznetsova was beginning to show signs of the form that won her the US Open title.

She was firing her booming groundstrokes with emphatic accuracy past the helpless Maleeva. After 30minutes the score stood at 5-3 and Kutznetsova confidently stepped up to serve for the match. With no sign of nerves, after four quick points the match was her's

The Russian No. 5 seed looked in impressive form today. She will have to raise her game to a higher level, however, if she is to have any hope against the No. 1 seed, Lindsay Davenport, in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Written by Beci Wood

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Pierce Power Tells Against Pennetta

Monday, June 27, 2005

Mary Pierce, runner-up at the French Open earlier this month, reached the quarter-finals of The Championships for only the second time in 10 attempts when she defeated Italy's Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-1.

Pierce played with power and authority, particularly in the second set when her booming forehand found its range, to see off with comparative ease a dangerous opponent who had defeated her in their only previous meeting two years ago.

Pennetta, who has won two tournaments in Latin America on clay this year and was seeded 26th, had not dropped a set on her way to the fourth round. Relying entirely on a baseline game, she matched the big-hitting Pierce for power and accuracy for the first seven games. Then the 30-year-old Pierce, the 12th seed, responded to cries of "Allez Marie" from her French supporters by upping the pace and breaking Pennetta on her second break point. A great crosscourt backhand from Pierce conjured the break point and Pennetta dropped serve when she struck a backhand a foot too long.

Visibly lifted, Pierce served out the set to love in 32 minutes and kept the momentum going by breaking serve, again to love, at the start of the second set. As Pierce's groundstrokes settled into an impressive groove, Pennetta's serve buckled under the strain. Having played the opening set without a double-fault, she perpetrated five of them as the pressure increased.

The 23-year-old Italian's hopes of staying in the match crumbled when Pierce broke for a third time in the match to lead 4-1. Running Pennetta from side to side and hitting with pinpoint accuracy, she has rediscovered the form that brought her Grand Slam titles in 1995 (Australia) and 2000 (France).

There was, however, a "typical Mary" finish to the match when she needed five match points to seal the victory on Pennetta's serve. Pierce missed two of them on simple errors and the Italian saved the other two with brave winners. But when a simple put-away set up match point number five, Pierce struck perhaps the best shot of the 65-minute match, a running backhand from wide of the tramlines which arrowed into the deepest corner. It was an appropriately brilliant winner for a first-class performance.

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