French Open Quarterfinals Predictions

Lindsay Davenport USA (1) vs. Mary Pierce FRA (21). Lindsay has had four 3-set matches in a row. The previous one was against Kim Clijsters, who was considered the favourite after winning back-to-back Tier 1 tournaments in March (Nasdaq-100 and Pacific Life Open). Bizarrely, this was the first time the two had met on clay (Davenport's worst surface) but it was Clijsters who faltered after holding a 6-1, 3-1 lead over an opponent she had beaten 5 times in a row over the last two and a half years. Mary Pierce, unlike fellow Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo, plays her best tennis at France's major tennis tournament and won the title in 2000. There are probably no bigger clean strikers of the ball (whose name is not Williams) in the game. This match will feature the return of Big Babe Tennis! PREDICTION: Davenport in 3 sets.

Elena Likhovtseva RUS (16) vs. Sesil Karatantcheva BUL.
Likhovtseva is the wily Russian veteran who took out the more famous Elena (Dementieva) the previous round. Karatantcheva is an unseeded 15-year old phenom (and the reigning French Open Junior Champion) who has the fearlessness and ferocity of youth. She took out Venus Williams two rounds before by outhitting and out-thinking her. PREDICTION: Karatantcheva in 2 sets.

Nadia Petrova RUS (7) vs. Ana Ivanovic SCG (29) . Petrova has been sneaking through the draw quietly but she is another (!) hard-hitting Russian with a very good serve and a natural athlete. I haven't seen Ivanovic play but Mary Carillo says she is the best of the next generation of teen players. I still think Petrova will get to her second French Open semi-final (she took out Monica Seles a few years ago), setting up another interesting grudge match with Henin (who Petrova took out in the 4th round of the 2004 US Open). PREDICTION: Petrova in 3 sets.

Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL (10) vs. Maria Sharapova RUS (2). This is the featured match of this round. I suspect whoever wins this match will win the 2005 French Open title. Henin-Hardenne gutted out two match points against her at 6-7,6-4,5-4 during her 3 hour, 15 minute ugly match with 2004 US Open Champion Setlana Kuznetsova. Neither player looked very comfortable during the match and Henin-Hardenne remained uncharacteristically glued to the baseline, even after hitting aggressive shots. At one point both players had first service percentages below 40%. Sharpova has looked sharp and is currently the only player to have beaten Henin-Hardenne this year (who has a 21-match winning streak on clay in 2005). Champions do not like to lose to anyone twice in a row. PREDICTION: This is really a toss-up, but I'll say Henin-Hardenne in 3 sets.

The final will be Henin-Hardenne/Sharapova versus Davenport. I'll have a prediction on the final after the semifinal matches.