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ROLAND GARROS (Paris, France; red clay; Grand Slam)
============= http://www.rolandgarros.com/
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Women's Singles: Third round
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+ MARION BARTOLI [18,S] d. ELENA DEMENTIEVA [13], 6-2 6-4

Bartoli inspired by Sampras to beat Dementieva
By Pritha Sarkar
>>>
PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) - Marion Bartoli took a leaf out of Pete
Sampras's book to record her best showing at a Grand Slam tournament
on Friday.

Local hope Bartoli reached the fourth round of the French Open for
the first time after upstaging former finalist Elena Dementieva
6-2 6-4.

"At the beginning of this year, my level was not what I expected it
to be. So I followed Pete Sampras's example because he was never one
of the favourites on clay," said the 22-year-old, who counts hard
courts as her favourite surface.

"But one year, he managed to win against guys like [Sergi] Bruguera
and get into the semi-final. So I thought, if he could do it, and if
he could defeat traditional claycourters, why not me? I should
similarly try and prepare for clay and see what the results are.

"So I practised a lot on clay. I practised sliding, dropshots, I ran
for two hours in the morning, and I played up to four to five hours
per day on clay-courts to improve my performance. And today, it paid
off. Today I think it wasn't bad. Not bad at all."

Sampras captured a record 14 Grand Slam titles during his
distinguished career, but never conquered his claycourt-demons during
13 visits to Roland Garros.

His run to the semi-finals in 1996 proved to be his best effort in
Paris, and his failure in France prevented him from completing his
collection of major crowns.

Bartoli's decision to follow the American's lead gave her the
confidence to pick apart Dementieva's fragile serve.

The 13th seed, runner-up to fellow Russian Anastasia Myskina in 2004,
never looked comfortable during the 68-minute contest, and slid out
after scooping a forehand into the net.

Bartoli will next face fourth seed Jelena Jankovic for a place in the
quarter-finals.
<<<

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Women's Singles: Fourth-round draw
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* MARION BARTOLI [18,S] v JELENA JANKOVIC [4]

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/seles/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/seles/selesians.html