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French Open Match Forecast: Serena Williams vs. Shahar Peer

May 30, 2010 – 10:53 PM
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Hal Spivack

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The only American woman left in the women's draw is Serena Williams. The only Israeli woman in the 128-player field is Shahar Peer. Peer faces off against Williams on Monday in one of the more anticipated matches on the women's side.

Storyline: No. 1-seed Serena Williams has not disappointed this tournament. The only set she lost so far was when she suffered from flu-like symptoms in the second set of her last match. After receiving treatment for her dizziness, Serena blew by her third-round opponent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third set. Serena's serve has been dominating all year and no woman in the tournament has had an answer for it.

Serena Williams (1) vs. Shahar Peer (18)
Round 4: Monday, Court Philippe Chatrier


Serena is approaching dangerous ground at Roland Garros, however. The last three years, Serena has been knocked out of the French open around the fourth round.

Like Serena, her opponent Shahar Peer (right) is playing very well too. Peer has racked up an abundance of wins this tour season. She is among the WTA leaders in matches played and total victories for 2010. In the third round of the French Open, Peer knocked off French favorite Marion Bartoli in straight sets. Peer is playing with a new found confidence that has inched her back into the tour's top 20.

Peer spent most of 2007 consistently ranked in the top 20 before her career took a turn for the worse. She is beginning to regain her 2007 form and has looked strong in Paris. Peer gave Serena a major scare in the 2007 Australian Open. In a quarterfinal match against Serena, Peer won the second set and was up late on Serena in the third. Peer forced Serena to beat her 8-6 in the final set. Peer has the potential to put the same type of scare into Serena on Monday.

Head-to-Head: Serena leads 4-0.

Matchup: Coming into Monday's match, Peer has played Serena four times, with Serena winning every match. For Peer to win on Monday, she must be overly aggressive and hop on Serena's serve. Peer has never been past the fourth round at Roland Garros, while Serena is a former champion in Paris. Peer must keep her composure throughout the match like she did against Serena in the 2007 Australian Open.

Quote: Following her third-round win: "I just ran out of a little energy out there," Williams said.

Prediction: Williams can't afford to run out of energy against Peer. Serena has not played anyone of Peer's caliber so far in the tournament. If Peer were playing anyone other than one of the Williams sisters in this round, she would most likely advance. However, both Williams sisters have been career albatrosses to Peer. Peer has played Venus three times this season and has lost every match convincingly in straight sets. Between Venus and Serena, Peer is 0-9 lifetime against the sisters. Serena is playing too well to slip here. She will roll in straight sets against Peer and advance into the quarterfinals.
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