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Catwalk for Venus, cakewalk for Federer in Paris
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-27 12:00
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PARIS - Venus Williams and her dress were centre of attention at Roland Garros on Wednesday but Roger Federer once again proved his tennis needs no added frills as both players moved smoothly into the French Open third round.
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Roger Federer of Switzerland serves during his match against Alejandro Falla of Colombia at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, May 26, 2010. [Agencies] |
Slide: French Open tennis tournament
Williams, the women's second seed, overpowered tricky Spaniard Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2 6-4 wearing a risque outfit more appropriate for the nearby Moulin Rouge cabaret.
Federer, the mens's defending champion, relied on his racket to provide the "Ooh la la" moments on Court Phillipe Chatrier during a rain-hit 7-6 6-2 6-4 win over Alejandro Falla.
Caroline Wozniacki suffered no such dramas, the third seed beating Italy's Tathiana Garbin 6-3 6-1.
Play finally ended for the day at 10pm local time with France's Gael Monfils locked at 5-5 in the fifth set against Italy's Fabio Fognini who was docked a point at 4-4 after arguing furiously with the umpire that it was too dark to continue playing.
Nearly 10 hours earlier the 29-year-old Williams struck the ball beautifully against Santonja but it was not just her power game that had a sparse mid-morning crowd buzzing.
Once again, she strode on court wearing a revealing lacy black corset which at times threatened to reveal a little more than she wanted, particularly as Wednesday was Children's Day at Roland Garros and many of the crowd were school age.
After completing an impressive victory to move a step closer to a possible repeat of her 2002 final here against sister Serena, Venus described her latest creation as an illusion.
Her form so far here has been anything but and she looks in the mood to challenge for a title that has never threatened since losing to sister Serena in the 2002 final.
Having dispatched wily Swiss Patty Schnyder in the first round, the seven-times grand slam champion was again in dominant form against the unorthodox Santonja who plays double-handed on both wings and is especially tricky on clay.
After fending off a break point in her first service game she took command, coming through in an hour and 35 minutes.
"She definitely kept me on my toes," Venus told reporters in reply to one of the few questions about the match itself.
"Overall, today I just thought I played the bigger points, especially on my serve, I played those really well, and I think that was key."
