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

1. Photos
2. Fourth-round scoreboard-report: Chakvetadze v Šafárová
3. Quarter-final draw/preview
4. Order of play for Tuesday

---------
1. Photos
---------

http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/
- Anna Chakvetadze (2r, 3r, 4r, Week 1)

I like Anna's "unique braid", and that 2r photo where she's looking
up to serve gives a nice new angle on Anna! :-)

http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=chakvetadze
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/gallery?pg=1&cap=1
Search Getty Images for "chakvetadze")

---------------------------------------------------------
2. Fourth-round scoreboard-report: Chakvetadze v Šafárová
(Sunday 3rd June)
---------------------------------------------------------

Nice winner, nice loser:
+ ANNA CHAKVETADZE [9,EF] d. LUCIE ŠAFÁROVÁ [25,DF], 6-4 0-6 6-2

A mouthwatering match between the latest player I have inducted into
my Eternal Fanship, and quite possibly the next player I will induct,
unfortunately I could only concentrate 33% on following live scores
for this match, because I was watching Sharapova v Schnyder on BBCi,
which started 3 minutes before the end of the first set here.

So I couldn't really feel the Passion I was looking to feel for
Lucie - it just felt so right when Anna won.

And since Lucie failed the Anna-test, I certainly won't be inducting
her into my Eternal Fanship before Wimbledon, which I hope will be my
next chance to watch her play. I won't be inducting her on the
strength of watching her play one match, no matter how excited I felt
when she beat Mauresmo.

If it gets to the end of the 2007 season and Lucie remains
untelevised and uninducted, I will order some DVDs from Tennis Videos
International <http://www.users.bigpond.com/tennisvideos1/> in order
to evaluate her, just as I evaluated Anna in the last off-season
(I would particularly like to see her fourth-round and quarter-final
matches at the Australian Open, and her matches from WTA Paris).
There are no shortcuts to inducting a player like Lucie into my
Eternal Fanship.

The match started at 16:37 CEST.


First set
---------
CHAKVETA @* * * * * 6
ŠAFÁROVÁ __* * * *_ 4

Lucie serving 0-0: 15/15. 15/40. 30/40. 40/40. Ad Lucie. Deuce #2.
Ad Anna (BP). Deuce #3. Ad Anna (BP #2). Broken.

What a first game!

Anna serving 1-0: 15/0. 15/40 (2 BPs). 40/40. Ad Anna. Held.

Lucie came back from *0-3 in the first set and 0-3* in the second
against Mauresmo, so Anna can never be complacent on her leads.

Lucie serving 0-2: 30/0 to 30/30. 40/30. Held.
Anna serving 2-1: 30/0. 30/15. 40/15. 40/30. Held.
Lucie serving 1-3: 40/0. Held.
Anna serving 3-2: 0/30. 15/30. 40/40. Ad Anna. Held.
Lucie serving 2-4: 0/15. 15/15. 15/40 (2 BPs) to 40/40. Ad Anna (BP).
Deuce #2. Ad Lucie. Held.

Wasted opportunities for Anna there.

Anna serving 4-3: 40/0. Held.
Lucie serving 3-5: 40/0. 40/15. Held.

The moment of truth: can Anna serve out this set? She often tends to
wobble when she's serving for a set or match - a prime example being
her second-round match against Ágnes Szávay, when she was taken to
three sets after leading 6-4 *5-4.

Anna serving 5-4: 15/0. 15/15. 40/15 (2 SPs). Anna won the first set
6-4 at 17:17 (40m).


Second set
----------
CHAKVETA ______ 0
ŠAFÁROVÁ *@*@*@ 6

Lucie serving 0-0: 0/15. 30/15. 30/30. 40/30. Held.
Anna serving 0-1: 0/15. 15/15. 15/40 (2 BPs). Broken.
Lucie serving 2-0: 40/0. 40/15. Held.
Anna serving 0-3: 0/30. 30/40 (BP). 40/40. Ad Lucie (BP #2). Broken.
Lucie serving 4-0: 40/0. Held.
Anna serving 0-5: 30/40 (3 SPs). Lucie won the second set 6-0 at
17:38 (21m).

What happened there? Was Anna injured, or did Lucie suddenly find the
hot form she showed against Mauresmo? Or did Anna sacrifice the set,
as an expert chess-player offers up a piece to induce the opponent to
make a fatal blunder?


Third set
---------
CHAKVETA _*@*@ @* 6
ŠAFÁROVÁ *____@__ 2

Lucie serving 0-0: 40/0. Held.
Anna serving 0-1: 0/15. 30/15. 30/30. 40/40. Ad Anna. Held.
Lucie serving 1-1: 0/30. 15/30. 15/40 (2 BPs). 30/40. Broken.
Anna serving 2-1: 30/15. 30/30. 40/30. 40/40. Ad Anna. Held.
Lucie serving 1-3: 0/40 (3 BPs). 15/40. Broken.
Anna serving 4-1: 15/15. 15/40 (2 BPs). 30/40. Broken.
Lucie serving 2-4: 15/0. 15/40 (2 BPs). Broken.
Anna serving 5-2: 40/0 (3 MPs). Anna won 6-4 0-6 6-2 at 18:06 (third
set 28m, match 1h29m).


Articles
--------

Sharapova survives at French Open
June 3, 2007
By Steve Douglas, Special to PA SportsTicker
>>>
Sharapova, who has never got past the quarter-finals at the Paris
Grand Slam, will next play Russia's Anna Chakvetadze after the ninth
seed beat Lucie Šafárová 6-4 0-6 6-2.

A day of rest may be in order for Sharapova, who seems to be dealing
with her shoulder-injury just fine.

"I still feel it at times. It's still there," Sharapova said. "It
will be very important to see how it is tomorrow, to rest it. I might
even need to take a day off. But that's fine."

Šafárová came into the match buoyed by her surprise-win over home-
favourite Amélie Mauresmo on Saturday, but she could not repeat her
exploits a day later.

It is only the second time Chakvetadze has reached the last eight of
a Grand Slam.
<<<

Old articles
------------

{Second-round preview - Wednesday 30th May}
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=1394
>>>
(9) Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) vs. (Q) Agnes Szávay (HUN) - First Meeting

Russia's Anna Chakvetadze is one of the rising stars of the Tour, and
she will hope to continue her progress on Thursday by making it
through to the third round at Roland Garros for the second time in
her career. The 20-year-old from Moscow has enjoyed a fantastic year
so far, breaking into the Top 10 for the first time, and reaching her
maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open. Her second-
round opponent Szávay was forced to battle through three rounds of
qualifying just to take her place in the draw, but the 18-year-old
delivered a mature performance on her Grand Slam début to dismiss
experienced campaigner Anne Kremer in straight sets.
<<<

{Third-round preview - Friday 1st June}
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=1403
>>>
(9) Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) vs. (21) Ai Sugiyama (JPN) - First Meeting

Saturday's second match on Suzanne Lenglen could well prove to be one
of the day's most fascinating, as Russian rising star Chakvetadze
comes up against experienced Japanese campaigner Sugiyama. Neither
player has looked entirely convincing during the opening rounds of
the tournament, and both will look for an improved performance in
their third-round clash. Chakvetadze has enjoyed a memorable first
half of the season, breaking into the Top 10 for the first time and
reaching her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open.
However, the 20-year-old Muscovite made hard work of her second-round
opponent, Hungarian qualifier Agnes Szávay, being pushed all the way
before finally edging a thrilling battle, 6-4 6-7(1) 6-4. 31-year-old
Sugiyama also required three sets to overcome her second-round foe
Meilen Tu and secure her place in the third round for the first time
since 2003. Despite their earlier travails, if both players are on-
song, this is one clash that really has the potential to get the
Parisian crowd on their feet.
<<<

{Fourth-round preview - Saturday 2nd June}
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=1406
>>>
(9) Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) vs. (25) Lucie Šafárová (CZE) -
Šafárová leads, 1-0

Šafárová may be the lowest-ranked player left in the draw at Roland
Garros, but Russia's Chakvetadze will certainly not be taking the
world No.29 lightly when they clash in the day's final match on Court
1. Šafárová looked in great touch during her shock third-round
victory over home-favourite Amélie Mauresmo, and if she maintains
this form, there is every possibility of her repeating the trick
against world No.9 Chakvetadze. Sunday's encounter between the two 20-
year-olds will be their second in less than a month; Šafárová
triumphed in a second-round match in Berlin in the middle of May. The
Czech starlet is certainly enjoying playing in the French capital
this season; she was a losing finalist at the Open Gaz de France in
February, and on her return this week, the No.25 seed has yet to drop
a set. Chakvetadze's progression into her first fourth-round
appearance in Paris has not been so serene, labouring to victories
over qualifier Agnes Szávay and then No.21 seed Ai Sugiyama. However,
these victories were the Muscovite's 27th and 28th of a highly
successful season, and the talented Russian will go into the contest
hungry for revenge and a place in her second Grand Slam quarter-final.
<<<

-----------------------------
3. Quarter-final draw/preview
-----------------------------

* JUSTINE HENIN [1] v SERENA WILLIAMS [8]
* NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [6,EF] v JELENA JANKOVIC [4] (pojdme Nicole!)
* ANA IVANOVIC [7,DF] v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [3] (ajde Ana!)
* ANNA CHAKVETADZE [9,EF] v MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF]

Wow, what a fantastic opportunity either for Maria to reach her first
French Open semi-final, or for Anna to reach her first Grand Slam
semi-final!

Anna has had a disappointing claycourt-season, relative to the
standards she set by winning Moscow last year! She's been struggling
with a right shoulder-strain, so it's no wonder that she hasn't been
firing on all cylinders.

But Anna has a golden opportunity to upset Maria on Maria's least-
favourite surface, with Maria a long way from her best form -
particularly her serve, as she too has been struggling with a right-
shoulder injury. And I wouldn't have thought that one day off would
be nearly enough for Maria to recover from that draining 2h38m
marathon she played against Patty Schnyder on Sunday, especially
after she also played on Saturday. Maria does tend to struggle when
she's played too many matches in too few days.


http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=1409
>>>
Next up for Sharapova is No.9 seed Anna Chakvetadze, a 6-4 0-6 6-2
winner over No.25 seed Lucie Šafárová. Sharapova is 3-0 in their head-
to-head series.

"I had a tough one against her in Australia," said Sharapova, who is
six weeks Chakvetadze's junior. "Obviously this is clay, and I've
never faced her on clay. But just like with everyone else, I've got
to worry about myself."
<<<

It's not true that Maria has never faced Anna on clay - she beat her
6-1 6-4 in 3r French Open 2005! But Anna has improved beyond
recognition since then: no longer just a grinder, she now has
flairsome power, a wonderful command of angles and width, and Hingis-
like abilities to anticipate and to make her defensive shots awkward
for her opponent.

Maria leads their head-to-head 3:0. She won their next meeting
4-6 6-4 7-5 at Los Angeles 2005, when they were both struggling with
injury, and Maria pulled out of the tournament after surviving that
marathon. And they met in the Australian Open quarter-finals, with
Maria winning 7-6 7-5.


http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=1411
>>>
(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs. (9) Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) -
Sharapova leads, 3-0

Sharapova's reward for her thrilling three-set victory over Patty
Schnyder is a quarter-final match-up with her compatriot and rival
Chakvetadze. The pair also met at the same stage of the Australian
Open, and world No.9 Chakvetadze will be out to avenge the narrow
defeat she suffered at Melbourne Park. Prior to this year, the
Muscovite had never been beyond the fourth round in Grand Slam
competition, but now she has achieved the feat in consecutive Majors.

Sharapova, on the other hand, will be making her third quarter-final
bow at Roland Garros, although her previous two appearances both
ended in defeat; losing straight-sets encounters with Paola Suárez in
2004 and Justine Henin one year later. Entering the tournament off
the back of an injury-plagued last few months, the Russian has
improved with every round, and will be quietly confident of chalking-
up her fourth career-triumph over her fellow 20-year-old. However,
Chakvetadze will be out to put an end to that run, and in a year
which has seen the elegant Russian capture her third career-title in
Hobart, as well as climb to her highest-ever world-ranking of No.9,
few would rule her out of doing so, and recording her 30th victory of
the season in the process.
<<<

----------------------------
4. Order of play for Tuesday
----------------------------

Court Suzanne Lenglen (start 12:00 CEST = 10:00 GMT = 11:00 BST)
1. WS qf: NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [6,EF] v JELENA JANKOVIC [4]
2. WS qf: ANNA CHAKVETADZE [9,EF] v MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF]
3. MS qf: NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO [4] v GUILLERMO CAŃAS [19]

BBCi will be on Chatrier all day, so I won't get to see any members
of my Eternal Fanship playing their quarter-finals! :-||

Ana is a nice girl and a good tennis-player, who I'm sure is on her
way to becoming a Grand Slam champion, and I can understand all the
hype about Henin v Williams, but I can't believe they think that the
Ivanovic v Kuznetsova quarter-final will be a more attractive match
than Vaidišová v Jankovic and especially Sharapova v Chakvetadze!

They should play all four women's quarter-finals back to back on
Chatrier, and all four men's quarter-finals on Wednesday.

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/