=============
ROLAND GARROS (Paris, France; red clay; Grand Slam)
============= http://www.rolandgarros.com/
Contents
--------

1. UK TV-alert
2. Photos
3. First-round draw (bottom half)
4. Second-round draw (top half)
5. Anna Chakvetadze preview
6. Order of play for Wednesday

This report is derived from my full tournament-reports (preview):
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=300336

--------------
1. UK TV-alert
--------------

The French Open will be televised on BBCi from 09:50 BST each day of
the tournament (digital viewers press Red or select the appropriate
Freeview-channel - 301 or 302).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6102132.stm
>>>
Sunday 27th May to Sunday 3rd June, 10:00-19:00, BBCi
Monday 4th to Wednesday 6th June, 11:00-19:00, BBCi
Thursday 7th June, 13:00-19:00, BBCi
Friday 8th June, 12:00-19:00, BBCi
Saturday 9th June: Women's final 14:00-16:30, BBC Two
Sunday 10th June: Men's final 13:45-19:00, BBCi
Sunday 10th June: Highlights of men's final 16:00-17:30, BBC Two
<<<

---------
2. Photos
---------

Nouf's photos - various players including Anna:
http://www.teamwta.com/content/view/996/91/

-------------------
3. First-round draw (bottom half)
-------------------
3.1 Third quarter: Hantuchová
-----------------------------

* ANA IVANOVIC [7,DF] v Sofia Arvidsson [LL] (ajde Ana!)
* Sania Mirza v Alberta Brianti (go Sania!)
* Tatiana Poutchek v Youlia Fedossova [WC]
* JULIA VAKULENKO [30] v Ioana Raluca Olaru [Q] (davai Julia!)

* Varvara Lepchenko v ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [24] (davai Varvara!)
* Elena Likhovtseva v Chan,Yung-Jan (davai Elena!)
* Olga Poutchkova v Eleni Daniilidou (davai Olga!)
* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [12,EF] v Jelena Kostanic Tošic (podme Daniela!)

* SHAHAR PE'ER [15] v Kaia Kanepi (kadima Shahar!)
* Edina Gallovits v Vasilisa Bardina
* Vera Dushevina v Camille Pin
* KATARINA SREBOTNIK [17] v Anastasia Rodionova (dajmo Katarina!)

* MARTINA MÜLLER [32] v Rossana de los Ríos [Q]
* Dominika Cibulková [Q] v Sun,Tiantian (podme Dominika!)
* Anastasia Myskina v Meghann Shaughnessy (davai Anastasia!)
* Ekaterina Bychkova v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [3] (davai Ekaterina!)


3.2 Bottom quarter: Chakvetadze, Sharapova
------------------------------------------

* AMÉLIE MAURESMO [5] v Laura Granville
* Caroline Wozniacki v Nathalie Dechy
* Flavia Pennetta [DF] v Nicole Pratt (forza Flavia!)
* LUCIE ŠAFÁROVÁ [25,DF] v Yulia Beygelzimer (pojdme Lucie!)

* AI SUGIYAMA [21] v Eva Birnerová
* Romina Oprandi v Meilen Tu
* Anne Kremer v Ágnes Szávay [Q]
* ANNA CHAKVETADZE [9,EF] v Alicia Molik (davai Anna!)

* Martina Suchá v PATTY SCHNYDER [14] (podme Martina!)
* Zuzana Ondrášková v Kateryna Bondarenko (pojdme Zuzana!)
* Karin Knapp v Victoria Azarenka
* Iveta Benešová v ALYONA BONDARENKO [22] (both nice; my loyalty is
to Iveta)

* GISELA DULKO [29,DF] v Hsieh,Su-Wei [Q,S] (Ąvamos Gisela!)
* Julia Schruff v Alla Kudryavtseva [Q]
* Lourdes Domínguez Lino v Jill Craybas
* MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] v Emilie Loit (davai Maria!)

--------------------
4. Second-round draw (top half)
--------------------

* JUSTINE HENIN [1] v Tamira Paszek
* Tamarine Tanasugarn v MARA SANTANGELO [28]
* SYBILLE BAMMER [20] v Olga Savchuk [Q]
* Pauline Parmentier [WC] v LI,NA [16]

* DINARA SAFINA [10] v Tzipora Obziler
* Timea Bacsinszky [Q] v FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE [23] (hopp Timea!)
* Michaëlla Krajícek v Shenay Perry (kom op Michaëlla!)
* Milagros Sequera v SERENA WILLIAMS [8]

* JELENA JANKOVIC [4] v Catalina Castańo
* Ashley Harkleroad v VENUS WILLIAMS [26] (go Ashley!)
* MARION BARTOLI [18,S] v Andrea Petkovic [Q] (allez Marion!)
* Mathilde Johansson [WC] v ELENA DEMENTIEVA [13] (allez Mathilde!)

* Kveta Peschke [Q] v Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro [WC]
* Nuria Llagostera Vives v TATHIANA GARBIN [19]
* Maria Kirilenko [DF] v SAMANTHA STOSUR [27] (davai Maria!)
* NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [6,EF] v Akgul Amanmuradova [Q] (pojdme Nicole!)

---------------------------
5. Anna Chakvetadze preview
---------------------------

Anna isn't firing on all cylinders at the moment, as she's been
struggling in the claycourt-season with a right shoulder-strain.

At Warsaw, she should have crucified Jill Craybas easier than
7-6 7-5. Beating Tathiana Garbin 6-2 6-2 was a much more convincing
scoreline, but then she retired at 6-7 (1/7) 1-3 against Jelena
Jankovic, following a dramatic loss of form in the tiebreak.

At Berlin, playing with a patch on her shoulder, she struggled past
Samantha Stosur 3-6 7-6 7-6, then lost 6-4 6-4 to Lucie Šafárová, who
is also one of the most promising young players on the WTA Tour.

At Rome she beat Yan,Zi 6-1 6-3, but then lost 6-2 6-3 to Daniela
Hantuchová. Daniela is one of the most flairsomely-talented players
on the WTA Tour, just as Anna is, but I was surprised by that
scoreline as I believe Anna's game is better suited to clay than
Daniela's.

I just hope that Anna's week off will have helped her shoulder to
heal, and that she'll soon be back to the level she was at last
autumn and earlier this year. Her recent results would have been okay
this time last year, but they are disappointing by top-ten standards.


5.1 First round
---------------

Alicia Molik was becoming a formidable top-ten player when her career
was cruelly interrupted by an inner-ear infection in 2005. Her
results have been much more modest since she came back in May 2006.
She did beat four top-32 players early in 2007, but has lost seven of
her last eight matches (the one she won was 7-6 2-6 7-6 against #292
Leanne Baker at Strasbourg).

Molik on this form should be easy pickings for a healthy Anna.
They've never played each other before.


5.2 Second round
----------------

Anne Kremer is one of the veterans of the WTA Tour at age 31, with a
win over Monica Seles at Eastbourne 1999. Her 2007 results aren't too
shabby at 19:12, but they've mainly been against low-ranked players
in qualifying for WTA tournaments.

Ágnes Szávay, on the other hand, is barely out of juniors, and lacks
big-match experience. She too has been playing mainly qualifying on
the WTA Tour this year, but with a more impressive win/loss record of
18:7. She also won the ITF $75k at Zagreb a couple of weeks ago - a
timely confidence-boost ahead of the French Open!

Again, either of these players would be easy pickings for a healthy
Anna.


5.3 Third round
---------------

Ai Sugiyama is another 31-year-old veteran, but a much higher-ranked
one at #26. She's a very plucky competitor, and playing against her
can be like pulling teeth. But she's lost four of her last five
matches - most recently a 6-0 6-2 loss to Shahar Pe'er at Rome, so
that has to be encouraging for Anna. They've never played each other
before.


5.4 Fourth round
----------------

This is where the going gets tough. Anna is seeded to meet Amélie
Mauresmo, which is kind of annoying because if Anna had moved up to
#9 one week earlier, she'd have been seeded eighth and avoided this
draw.

Anna trails Mauresmo 0:3 head-to-head, but every match has been
tougher than the one before.

But Mauresmo is off-form after coming back from appendicitis, losing
to Julia Vakulenko in 3r Berlin, Samantha Stosur in 2r Rome, and
Anabel Medina Garrigues in the final of Strasbourg. And she always
underperforms at Roland Garros.

Perhaps the greater danger, then, comes from Lucie Šafárová, who
upset Mauresmo 6-4 6-3 at the Australian Open, then enjoyed a
trailblazing run to the final of WTA Paris, upsetting Nicole
Vaidišová, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Justine Henin back to back.

Lucie's results have been more modest since WTA Paris, and her
6-4 6-0 semi-final loss to Victoria Azarenka at Estoril was
particularly disappointing. But she did beat Anna 6-4 6-4 at Berlin -
their only meeting so far.


5.5 Quarter-finals
------------------

Anna could be in for a repeat of her Australian Open quarter-final
against Maria Sharapova, which she lost 7-6 7-5. Maria leads their
head-to-head 3:0. They first played each other - and I first saw Anna
play - at the French Open 2005, which Maria won 6-1 6-4, but Anna's
game has improved almost beyond recognition since then.

Due to serious injuries to her right shoulder and left hamstring,
Maria hadn't played since Miami until Constantinople, where she lost
in the semi-finals to Aravane Rezaď.

So Maria's place in that quarter-final is far from guaranteed, the
greatest danger coming from Patty Schnyder, who beat Maria at Rome
2005. Schnyder was having a poor 2007 until Rome, where she beat
Serena Williams to reach the semi-finals. But she pulled out of
Constantinople with a right-thigh strain.

Anna is 1:1 head-to-head against Schnyder after her 6-4 6-1 thrashing
of the Swiss in the fourth round of the Australian Open. But clay is
Schnyder's best surface, while Anna's claycourt-season is below par
so far.

------------------------------
6. Order of play for Wednesday (Anna-filtered)
------------------------------

Court 17 (start 11:00 CEST = 09:00 GMT = 10:00 BST)
1. WS 1r: ANNA CHAKVETADZE [9,EF] v Alicia Molik
2. WS 1r: PATTY SCHNYDER [14] v Martina Suchá
3. MS 2r: Nicolas Lapentti v Mikhail Youzhny
4. WS 2r: Kveta Peschke v Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro

Full order of play:
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/chakv/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Anna_Chakvetadze/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/