FRENCH OPEN: Updated Quarterfinals Predictions

Amélie Mauresmo FRA (1) Nicole Vaidisova CZE (16) vs. Venus Williams USA (11). The 17-year old Czech sensation eleiminated the World's #1 ranked tennis player in 3-sets when Mauresmo got tight in front of her adoring Parisian fans after winning the first set in a tiebreaker, losing the final two sets 6-1,6-2. Both players are over 6 feet tall, and both like to play with power and pace. It's hard to believe that the young Vaidisova can do this better than the 5-time Grand Slam champion. PREDICTION: Williams in 3 sets.

Maria Sharapova RUS (4) Dinara Safina RUS (14) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (8) . The younger sister of Marat Safin is finally coming into her own. She lost in the final of the Tier 1 Italian Open to Martina Hingis last week. Amazingly, Safina was down two breaks 1-5 in the 3rd set against Sharapova and won the match (Sharapova never had a match point). Safina never stopped going for her shots regardless of what the score was. In this second all-Russian match I think that Kuznetsova will pull out the win, just barely.
PREDICTION: Kuznetsova in 3 sets.

Anna-Marie Groenefeld GER (13) vs. Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL (5). The odious Justine is the defending champion and will easily get into the semi-final over either Groenefeld or Gisela Dulko. PREDICTION: Henin-Hardenne in 2 sets.

Kim Clijsters BEL (2) vs. Martina Hingis SUI (12) . This is a reprise of the Australian Open quarterfinal which was won by Clijsters, who at one point was simply overpowering "Chucky." It's not clear if Hingis has managed to come up with a solution to the "big babe tennis" dilemma since then, but she did show by winning the Italian Open two weeks ago (defeating Venus Williams in three sets after losing the first seven games in a row) PREDICTION: This is really a toss-up, but I'll say Clijsters in 3 sets.