It's Serb against Serb in the women's semifinals at the French Open on Thursday, the first time that has happened, for either of the sexes, in Grand Slam history.
French Open drawcards Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova survived French Open scares on Friday but 2002 women's champion Serena Williams was knocked out in her worst performance in Paris since 1999. Nadal needed treatment on his blistered right foot before brushing aside Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to make the last 16.
The queen has abdicated. The throne is bare and the pretenders are circling at the French Open, which began on Sunday, with expectations high for an unusually large number of women players who feel they have been handed the rarest of opportunities. For the first time in almost a decade, winning at Roland Garros will not mean having to beat Justine Henin.
Torrential rain brought chaos to the French Open on Tuesday, with six hours of play lost and title favourites Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal amongst the victims of the deluge. Only 13 of the day's planned 72 ties were finished in the three hours of play possible between the downpours, leaving 59 of 128 first-round meetings still to be completed.
Roger Federer cruised into the French Open second round on Monday while rival and triple champion Rafael Nadal was left kicking his heels in the locker room as torrential rain swamped Roland Garros. The world number one then had the unexpected bonus of seeing potential quarterfinal danger man Richard Gasquet pull out of the tournament.
Gustavo Kuerten briefly rekindled his Parisian love affair on Sunday before bidding a tearful farewell to the French Open. The Brazilian has enjoyed a special relationship with Roland Garros since he celebrated his third and final triumph in 2001 by drawing a giant love-heart in the red clay with his racket.
Women's world number one Justine Henin on Wednesday announced her retirement from competitive tennis at a press conference in her native Belgium. "I have decided to put an end to my tennis-playing career," she said, confirming reports in the Belgian press.
Champion Serena Williams made world number one Justine Henin look like a mere novice as she pulled off a stunning 6-2 6-0 victory to reach the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Tuesday. Williams barely put a foot wrong and reeled off the last nine games to book a last-four date with either her sister Venus or third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
