By: Matt DeCorso

Hello everyone! It's quarterfinal Friday in Berlin and most of the favourites have made it through. Sprem will play Zuluaga, Capriati and Myskina do battle, Kuznetsova and Mauresmo clash, and Venus battles Suarez! Yesterday was a great tennis day as some of the quarterfinalists had to work hard to get through. Props is goin' out to Masha Sharapova as she pushed Capriati to 5-7 6-4 6-1. After playing her tough for 2 sets, Maria faded in the third but gained a lot of experience. Kuznetsova also upset countrywoman Dementieva in a tight three setter. Our girl Venus demolished Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi 6-3 6-1. In the biggest surprise of the day, Sprem defeated Clijsters...by withdrawal! After being out of action for 7 weeks, Kim played Fed Cup last weekend and looked rusty. In her second round match with Marrero she looked very out of match practice and yesterday she didn't even show up on the court. Enjoy the preview!

Venus Williams versus Paola Suarez

Mark down Venus' 13th consecutive win and might I add, on the dirt! Venus has now been recognized as a huge favourite for Roland Garros. Unless she suffers a severe meltdown in Paris, we should be seeing Venus in at least the semifinals. After bowing out at the hands of Zvonareva last year in the fourth round, Venus has few points to defend, therefore her ranking will improve if she succeeds. After having some problems with Daniilidou, Venus showed no signs of discomfort as she rolled over the Israeli in straight sets. Huge first serves and untouchable winners were the story yesterday as Anna could barely keep up. Today Venus plays Paola Suarez, the Argentinean veteran. Look for Venus to really try and dominate the points and not let Suarez get into a long rally. She will also come to net a lot.

Weakness: Suarez is capable of retrieving balls and crushing them so Venus may have some problems.

Paola Suarez hasn't really made a lot of singles headlines but when they happen, they're usually on clay. She reached the Roland Garros quarterfinals in '02 before losing to fellow Argentine Clarisa Fernandez. Suarez had just upset favourite Amelie Mauresmo and had a lead in that match. Sadly she lost but had the experience to fall back on. After beating Medina Garrigues and Schett with relative ease she took out Petrova yesterday to prevent the projected quarterfinal between Nadia and Venus. In this match look for Paola to come to net a lot as she is an accomplished doubles player. She will also be looking to use slices and power to throw Venus off.

Weakness: If Venus is on a roll, there is nothing Suarez can do to stop it.

Who has the Edge?

Serve- Venus

Groundies- Venus

Movement- Suarez

Intangibles- Suarez

Volley- Suarez

I think this is the first time an opponent has outnumbered Venus. Venus definitley doesn't underestimate an opponent but she has an advantage. The two have played before and on clay. In 2002 they met on green clay in Amelia Island. Venus won very easily but she is wary of Suarez' net abilities and all court game. For Venus, make sure you take the net away from Suarez, and don't get entangled in too many baseline rallies. For Paola, attack the second serve and pressure her by coming to net.

Matt's Pick: Make Venus' winning streak 14 and her head-to-head over Suarez 2-0 as she wins 6-4 6-4.

Thanks