TENNIS Live

French Open - 1st Round - Women

Nationality Player Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
United StatesV Williams646--
United StatesB Mattek162--

12 comments - Leave a comment

Venus Williams

Nationality USA
Date of Birth 17/01/1980
Height 1.85 m
Weight 72.5 kg

Bethanie Mattek

Nationality USA
Date of Birth 23/03/1985
Height 1.68 m
Weight 66 kg
 

Live Comments

  1. - - So Williams is through after two easy sets, sandwiched by a very competitive set. She will meet the winner of the Lucie Safarova and Sabine Lisicki match. Click here to see the draw

  2. 6-2 - WILLIAMS IS THROUGH. She sets up match point with a powerful cross court forehand while sprinting to her right which Mattek-Sands can only put into the net. She puts her first serve of match-point into the net but takes it on the second with a big forehand into the corner.

  3. 5-2 - Mattek-Sands again holds, she worked the ball well from left to right, though Williams wasn't showing too much urgency to get to some of those balls.

  4. 5-1 - Williams holds and is now just one game away from the next round.

  5. 4-1 - Mattek-Sands holds her serve for the first time in this deciding set. She holds to love, sealing it with an ace.

  6. 4-0 - Williams again holds her serve, this time to 15 and she is racing away with this set.

  7. 3-0 - Another break for Williams, which she again seals following a rally. Mattek-Sands is having problems staying with Williams' power, particularly when on the move. Williams takes it by putting the ball long.

  8. 2-0 - Williams follows the break with a hold to 30. Her athleticism was too much for Mattek-Sands.

  9. 1-0 - Williams breaks Mattek-Sands to start the third set after a long rally. Williams did well to hold on, Mattek-Sands hit some big winners that would have right past most players, Williams just about dug them out and then Mattek-Sands slammed the ball into the net.

  10. 4-6 - Mattek-Sands break Venus Williams to take the second set. She faced two at 15-40, saving the first with an ace and then with a big backhand at the net after a long rally. Williams then double faults to give the set to Mattek-Sands.

  11. 4-5 - Williams gets a break point which she cannot take. She slams the next point into the net and then is aced by Mattek-Sands' first of the day.

  12. 4-4 - Brokeback mountain! Perhaps Mattek-Sands is not done just yet. Mattek-Sands gets two break points, Williams saves the first but then double faults to hand it to Mattek-Sands.

  13. 4-3 - Williams breaks Mattek-Sands with a double handed back hand across court. With that it looks like Mattek-Sands' hopes of getting anything from this match could be gone.

  14. 3-3 - Williams holds. It was far from easy though. Mattek-Sands smacked two big winners at 0-0 and 40-30 and got some luck to take the points at 40-15. It looked like that this could be her chance, it wasn't to be.

  15. 2-3 - Much better from Mattek-Sands, she holds to love.

  16. 2-2 - Williams sends down her second ace of the day to set up a 40-15 hold. In other news, Richard Williams has put down his games console.

  17. 1-2 - Mattek-Sands double faults to hand the break point to Williams, she recovers well though and takes the next three points and the game. She is playing much better in this second set, hitting more winners (four) than in the first.

  18. 1-1 - Williams was facing a break point early on but saved it with a winner down the line, moving to her right and slamming a forehand past Mattek-Sands when it looked like she had done enough. That set-up deuce and then an advantage to Williams which she blew with a double fault. Mattek-Sands then took the game with a smash into an empty court with Williams at the net.

  19. 1-0 - We start the second set with a break of serve. Mattek-Sands hands it to Williams with a wild forehand which went a good four yards wide.

  20. 6-1 - So if a bagel is 6-0, what is 6-1? It is a breadstick of course, and Williams is currently munching one down. Mattek-Sands hits a good winner early on but that was all she could muster in that set.

  21. 5-1 - Mattek-Sands is on the board, so there will be no bagel in this opening set. She starts off poorly with a double fault, but recovers well to record her first game.

  22. 5-0 - Williams holds her serve, the game goes to deuce, but Mattek-Sands hits another unforced error to lose the game. In the stands, Richard Williams seems to have given up on the match; he seems far more interested with the handheld game he is playing with.

  23. 4-0 - Williams breaks Mattek-Sands once more. Mattek-Sands didn't appear to be too worried by her wrist injury there, hitting some powerful backhands straight at Williams who was using her racket as a shield. Not enough though, Williams breaks again.

  24. - - A physio and doctor are treating Mattek-Sands for an injury on her right wrist. From a routine forehand she immediately began to feel it hurting.

  25. 3-0 - Mattek-Sands is giving up seven inches in height to Williams, and it showed there. She tried to lob Williams who did not even have to jump to smash the ball back. Williams then hit a cross court shot which Mattek-Sands' shorter legs could net carry her to.

  26. 2-0 - Williams breaks Mattek-Sands 0-40. Mattek-Sands hit some shots awfully long there.

  27. 1-0 - And she holds. Apart from a double fault that was very straightforward

  28. 0-0 - It will be Venus Williams to start us off

  29. - - These two have only met once, in 2006 at Wimbledon, where Williams dominated, winning 6-1, 6-0. Williams reached the final of Roland Garros in 2002, losing to her sister is straight sets. She will be looking to go one better this year. Two weeks ago she fell to Alisa Kleybanova in Madrid in the round of 32. As for Mattek-Sands, she also fell in the round of 32, in Warsaw, to Britain's Anne Keothavong, who crashed out this morning, 6-0, 6-0, or with two bagels as we have been saying in the office. Click here to read about that

  30. - - Click to view Venus Williams' profile

  31. - - Click to view Mattek-Sands' profile

  32. - - Good morning tennis fans and welcome to our LIVE coverage from the French Open. Next on the Suzanne Lenglen court is an all American encounter between Venus Williams and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

WTA Race 2009

Points
1 Dinara Safina 7730
2 Serena Williams 7575
3 Svetlana Kuznetsova 5771
4 Caroline Wozniacki 5345
5 Elena Dementieva 5215
6 Victoria Azarenka 4450
7 Venus Williams 4396
8 Vera Zvonareva 3550
9 Jelena Jankovic 3435
10 Agnieszka Radwanska 3340

Full Table »

Comment 1 - 12 of 12

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  1. very very very nice Dress Venus,.. you looked very­ Good,..!!!

    From Mootje M, on Mon 25 May 4:01PM

  2. Yes she did it! but again, the serve...oomph! what can­ she give just to increase the average % serve in, even­ at the cost of reducing those record speed aces; it­ will still be a lot better cos she can rally. Anyway,­ welldone V. Round 2

    From Olawale, on Mon 25 May 1:31PM

  3. Come on Venus,stop @#$%-footing

    From Debbie P, on Mon 25 May 1:14PM

  4. go venus.. u deserve to win..

    From masteral_conan25, on Mon 25 May 1:12PM

  5. Ugh! Venus u love puttin ur fans tru drama. Now u have­ to do it the hard way. Get tru dese first few rounds­ where ur suceptible to losin an u can do well. Go V

    From P B, on Mon 25 May 12:56PM

  6. Yeah good luck Vee, shame you were drawn against Beth­ who is probably third best of US ladies currently.

    From sanchez.santos, on Mon 25 May 12:42PM

  7. Come on Venus! You're doing mighty fine.
    Just keep­ your focus and serve well.

    From JefriJ, on Mon 25 May 12:02PM

  8. Come on V, do ur best in this match. And all da best­ for the tournament.

    From P B, on Mon 25 May 11:51AM

  9. Come on Venus! Show them you are great on Clay as well!

    From David, on Mon 25 May 11:34AM

  10. Venus just needs to take it one game at a time. She can­ play, no noubt about that even on clay. But the serve­ and the concentration are still the question marks...I­ just love this woman so much. All the best, Venus

    From Olawale, on Mon 25 May 11:24AM

  11. yes go venus all d best u can win this grand slam

    From kish, on Mon 25 May 11:23AM

  12. Go Venus! America has the best women players in the­ world.

    From Joyce C, on Sun 24 May 10:55PM
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