Serena had to put on the hard hat for her Court Philippe Chatrier match against Russian teen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.It didn't look that way at first as she only took 28 minutes to win the first set 6-1. But after Serena had to call the trainer out for some medical issues, Pavlyuchenkova took advantage of Serena's troubles. She flipped the script in the second set to win it by an identical 6-1 count in 34 minutes to even the match.
Serena regrouped, took a deep breath and subdued Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 in the decisive third set to punch her ticket to the fourth round and her match with Israel's Shahar Peer. The win ensured that Little Sis will keep the world No.1 ranking after Roland Garros.
“I just ran out of a little energy out there,” Williams said. “Just fighting a cold and fighting sickness. But, you know, I’m just feeling better and getting ready for doubles.”
Meanwhile, Big Sis is rested and gets to play Russia's Nadia Petrova in her fourth round match.
The good news for Serena was that she didn't have to expend any extra energy in that doubles match against Hantuchova and Wozniacki. It was won in a walkover, so the Number one ranked Williams sisters will take on the Czech Republic's duo of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in their next doubles match.
