By: Matt DeCorso

Hey everyone! What an intense tennis day Europe. With a 2 hour match, Venus pulled a Houdini and escaped fresh face, Karolina Sprem. After being down 3-0 in the final set, Venus somehow fought through injury and Sprem. Venus' final opponent is nemesis Amelie Mauresmo. Amelie demolished Capriati 6-3 6-2. Some props is goin' out to Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario as she and Pierce two days ago beat Kuznetsova and Likhovtseva 7-6 in the third. Yesterday they were beaten in straights by finalists, Husarova and Martinez. Tatiana Golovin and Marion Bartoli also get some kudos for winning tight 2 set matches in the Rome qualies. Finally, David Nalbandian takes the cake as he beat Costa in a 2 and a half hour match. David was down a break and appeared to be on his way home. Good job David. Enjoy the preview!

Venus Williams versus Amelie Mauresmo

As Donna Summer (I think) said, "She works hard for the money so you better treat her right!" Venus definitley worked for the win but Sprem was definitley not nice. Ruthlessly she sprayed winning shots into every corner of the court before Venus caught some air to tak 2 games in the first set. In the second set, Venus got a break at 3-4 and closed out the set. Given her past easy sets, the crowd was expecting a third set route. Instead, Sprem played like in the first and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Venus' confidence was damaged but not finished. She summoned every experienced bone in her body to win 6-4 in the third set. Unfortunately she sustained a twisted ankle and left thigh strain. I don't think it's much because she would have retired. In this match look for Venus to be on the defensive a lot as Amelie is the fresher of the two. She will also be looking to win a good % of her first serves and come to net.

Weakness: Her possible injuries and fatigue.

Amelie Mauresmo had an easy semifinal win over a tough player, Jennifer Capriati. Amelie was dominant from the start and didn't let her opponent get started. Jennifer is the queen of quick starts but unfortunately, Amelie was the better competitor. Amelie has defeated Chladkova, Dulko, and Capriati with ease. Her only "blip" was in the quarters against Svetlana Kuznetsova when she was pushed to a third set. Other than that, Amelie has looked like the woman to beat in Germany this week. As champion in '01, she knows this court and how to maneuver every shot in the books. In this match look for Amelie to get Venus running early and coming to net a lot.

Weakness: Amelie has a pretty weak second serve, so Venus may get some free points on that.

Who has the Edge?

Serve- Venus

Groundies- Mauresmo

Movement- Mauresmo

Intangibles- Venus

Volley- Mauresmo

Sit tight folks, 'cuz this is going to be a tough match for both players. Venus leads their head to head series 5-1 with the one loss coming on clay, in the final, in Warsaw, last year. Of course, as everyone remembers, Venus was injured and had to retire. HOPEFULLY, the final will be played under healthy circumstances. For Venus, make sure you come to net and try and surprise Mauresmo with some slices and droppers. For Amelie, make sure you use your full arsenal of shots.

Matt's Pick: Venus will take the title 2-6 6-4 6-4.

Thanks