PARIS, 31 May 2003 — Serena Williams took just 40 minutes to thrash Barbara Schett at the French Open yesterday in a third round match that bordered on the embarrassing. But Andre Agassi can hold his head high after a breathtaking 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 victory over Xavier Malisse.
While Schett provided no resistance whatsoever to the women’s top seed during a 6-0, 6-0 ordeal, an irrepressible Agassi was full of praise for his Belgian opponent afterward. “He is an incredibly talented player, sometimes you are watching him playing instead of watching the ball,” the men’s second seed said.
Malisse, a Wimbledon semifinalist last year, played with flair and power throughout but came up against a brick wall in the form of Agassi. Swatting the ball around court, the 1999 champion never allowed Malisse — immensely talented or not — a chance.
“You know, today I constructed the match very well... played well at the right time, at the end of each set, and finished it off,” Agassi said. He will next face Flavio Saretta after the Brazilian beat Spain’s Galo Blanco.
In the women’s draw Serena, despite a number of errors herself, was simply too strong for Schett in a match lacking even a modicum of subtlety or guile. Tactics were an irrelevancy as both players struggled to find any consistency. At least when defend-ing champion Serena’s shots landed in court they were hit with great power, a difference which won her the match with ease.
“I just played very good today,” Serena said when stopped as she was leaving the court. There was little else she could say and still save her opponent’s blushes but Schett’s reaction at the end told a different story.
A former world No. 7 — and conqueror of Serena’s elder sister Venus here two years ago — Schett won just six points in the second set and 20 in the entire match, 16 of which came from Serena’s unforced errors.
When a clumsy attempt at a drop-shot landed half-way up the net while facing match point she jogged to the net and smashed a ball high into the stands. Shaking her head and smiling in embarrassment she embraced Serena before heading back to the locker room, flushed and smiling shyly.
“Obviously I didn’t play my best today,” she smiled when asked about the one-sided ordeal. “Usually Barbara and I have tough matches,” Serena said. “I guess today it was just my day. I hope I can keep it up.”
Serena will next face Japan’s Ai Sugiyama after the 16th seed beat Meghann Shaughnessy of the US 6-1, 6-4.
While Schett’s discomfort had been evi-dent to all on center court, Wayne Ferreira’s agony was evident to anyone within hearing range of court one. The South African let out a chilling shriek of agony before collapsing on the court after injuring his groin during his match with 11th seed Rainer Schuettler.
Ferreira had to be carried off as Schuettler received easy passage through to a fourth round clash with Martin Verkerk. Fourth-seeded Spaniard Carlo Moya lost a two-set lead before battling past Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3.
The 1998 champion looked dead and buried after he lost his way to let the dogged Argentine level the contest. But Moya refused to give up and drew on all of his experience to carve out the win in just over three hours. He will face 13th-seeded Czech Jiri Novak for a place in the last eight.
Amelie Mauresmo thrilled her home fans with a powerful 6-3, 6-4 win over Fabiola Zuluaga to reach the fourth round. The fifth seed lined up a clash with Spain’s Magui Serna who beat America’s Ashley Harkleroad 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Injuries continued to mount in the men’s draw with Ferreira becoming the most serious of the tournament’s six victims.
Spanish qualifier Galo Blanco later pulled out against Brazilian Flavio Saretta, who will be Andre Agassi’s next opponent. The Spaniard, who beat compatriot Alex Corretja in the first round, also injured his groin, a common injury on clay because players are forced to slide to catch a ball.
Ecuador’s Giovanni Lapentti and Frenchman Richard Gasquet were ruled out of the first round after suffering cramps. Chile has been the most injury-hit nation, with Marcelo Rios and Nicolas Massu forced out in the early rounds, Rios with a shoulder injury while Massu sprained his left ankle.
