Sharapova, Henin advance to French showdown

PARIS — Maria Sharapova needed only five games Friday to advance at the FrenchOpen. Her next match will likely be a lot tougher — she faces four-time champion Justine Henin. Sharapova and Henin set up a third-round showdown by winning matches suspended overnight because of darkness. Sharapova finished off Kirsten Flipkens, 6-3, 6-3, and Henin beat Klara Zakopalova 6-3, 6-3. A schedule backlog caused by rain created a parade of champions on the sixth day of the tournament. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Venus and Serena Williams were among those who advanced. Now the champions start playing each other. Henin has a 6-3 record against Sharapova, but the Russian won their most recent meeting in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Australian Open. That was Henin's last Grand Slam match before she retired. Now the Belgian is mounting a career comeback and playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2007. Seeded 22nd, Henin has FrenchOpen winning streaks of 23 matches and 39 sets. The No. 12-seeded Sharapova is seeking the only Grand Slam title she has yet to win. While Henin and Sharapova won quickly, Serena Williams and Nadal did as well, taking the court on a sunny, cool morning. Both were done before lunch. The top-ranked Williams won nine consecutive games and advanced to the third round by beating Julia Goerges 6-1, 6-1. Four-time champion Nadal lost serve only once and beat Horacio Zeballos 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. Williams won in 55 minutes and said such a rout can help her in later matches. "I can learn a lot, like, 'OK, what am I doing today? How can I get them to all be like that?'" she said. "Those are the questions that I ask and I try to answer." Venus Williams reached the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time since 2006 by beating No. 26 Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 6-4. Once again wearing the lacy corset that has created the tournament's biggest buzz, Williams hit six aces and lost only four points on her first serve. Serena and Venus are seeded 1-2 and wouldn't meet until the final. "We're having so much fun at this time of my career, and you know, we just feel good," Serena said. "We're doing the best we can, and we're enjoying every moment." Nadal advanced in 1 hour, 45 minutes. He has lost only 13 games through two rounds and next faces two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt, who outlasted Denis Istomin 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. Hewitt improved to 30-14 in five-set matches. The top-ranked Federer reached the fourth round by beating qualifier Julian Reister 6-4, 6-0, 6-4. Federer never faced a break point and lost only five points on his first serve. Djokovic, a two-time semifinalist, overcame nine double-faults for a second-round win over Kei Nishikori, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. No. 9 David Ferrer, led 6-2, 6-2, 2-0 when Xavier Malisse retired with a left hamstring injury. No. 19 Nicolas Almagro, No. 22 Jurgen Melzer and No. 31 Victor Hansecu also advanced. In women's play, Russian qualifier Anastasia Pivovarova, ranked 187th, upset No. 25-seeded Zheng Jie of China 6-4, 6-3. No. 13 Marion Bartoli also won. Unseeded American Jill Craybas lost to No. 29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-1. Serena Williams, bidding for her first title at Roland Garros since 2002, played aggressively and still committed only four unforced errors to 20 for Goerges. Williams often moved two steps inside the baseline to smack returns, and she won 15 of 19 points on Goerges' weak second serves. Williams held every service game and sprinted forward several times to finish off points with swinging volleys. The 12-time Grand Slam champion has won 41 consecutive second-round matches in major tournaments since losing in that round in her Grand Slam debut in 1998 to her older sister. Nadal won with steady play from the baseline, committing only 12 unforced errors, and he also won 16 points at the net. Seeded second, Nadal improved to 33-1 at Roland Garros, with his lone loss a fourth-round upset against Robin Soderling in 2009. He is 17-0 on clay this year. – AP