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Sloppy but sufficient Serena holds off feisty Frenchwoman in three sets
PARIS (Reuters) -- Sixth seed Serena Williams kept the family French Open title hopes alive as she battled past France's Sarah Pitkowski 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1, on Tuesday to advance to the second round. With father Richard and sister Venus, who was knocked out in the first round by Austria's Barbara Schett on Monday, watching from the stands, the younger Williams appeared on course for an easy victory when she cruised through the opening set. But the feisty Pitkowski made the former U.S. Open champion earn her place in the second round, taking a bitterly disputed second set in a tiebreak 7-4. The mood on Suzanne Lenglen court turned decidedly ugly when Pitkowski angrily argued a line call when leading 6-5 and battling to level the match. After an animated discussion with the chair umpire, Pitkowski returned to the service line in tears. The crowd jeered and whistled at the decision, refusing to let Williams serve despite eight pleas for calm from the umpire. The hostilities intensified during the tiebreak with both players disputing calls and exchanging menacing glances. "I get a lot of that," said Williams, who was booed after pulling out the tournament in Indian Wells and then plunged the sport into controversy with allegations of racism. "I deal with it. "Sometimes it gets a little rough and trying but, like I said, I seem to get it a lot. But I don't care, it's over with and I'm going onto the next round." The second-set effort appeared to drain the 91st-ranked Frenchwoman, who ended the match in frustration, angrily slamming her racket into the Suzanne Lenglen court's red clay. The match lasted two hours and 21 minutes and provided Williams with a good test for her tender knee that has still not completely healed since she played in the Ericsson in March. "The knee is a lot better so hopefully it will last," she said. "It was a long match but my knee held up. "It's not as strong, I'll just keep icing it and praying."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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