By: Matt DeCorso

Bonjour tout le monde! Tennis to me has had a rebirth as the Grand Slam atmosphere produces beautiful tennis, especially at the year's second Slam, Roland Garros. A couple tidbits of info before I preview Venus. Justine Henin-Hardenne looked very rusty and looked like a healthy top 50 player could actually upset the ailing Belgian. She came through in two over Testud but doubts were cast over her. Then one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history occurred as Agassi was dismissed in straight sets by 23 year old qualifier (271 ranked) Jerome Haehnl. Shock waves are still being felt as the Frenchman exploited Agassi's lack of preparation and footing on a sunny day in Paris. Lindsay Davenport kept a hold of the American front by shortly after taking care of Virginie Pichet in the most topsy turvy match I've seen since Venus Williams and Clijsters at Wimbledon last year. Justine, Lindsay, and Jerome set the stage for Andy Roddick to do battle with Todd Martin. This match was actually a tight three setter for Roddick, who was under the weather. After the match Roddick and Martin discussed a bit heatedly a certain call that was questioned in the third set. Anyways good win for Andy. Other notable winners were: Mauresmo, Coria, Petrova, Moya, and Sharapova. Only 4 other seeded players went down yesterday. Gonzalez fell to Mayer the qualifier (watch out for the young German as he may garner a 3rd or 4th rd showing), Philippoussis was devastated by Horna. On the womens side Eleni Daniilidou was promtly ousted by Weingartner and Jelena Dokic was put out by Ukranian young 'un, Tatiana Perebiynis. The player who gets my props is Lisa Raymond who battled back from 6-0 5-0 down to break Kurhajcova's heart, 0-6 7-5 6-3! Enjoy!

Tamarine Tanasugarn versus Venus Williams

As hoped for, Venus (we pray) is playing in Paris against the Thai Tanasugarn. Venus started off her clay campaign with a stunning win over Martinez in Amelia Island to take the title and whipped Kuznetsova for the Warsaw crown. All looked well in Berlin until she sprained her ankle in escaping Sprem in their semi before retiring from the final to hand Mauresmo the title. It was in question whether Venus would play but she says her ankle feels great. In this match look for Venus to be anxious to pounce early and get Tamarine running lots early. She may also venture to the net to finish a demanding rally.

Weakness: Possible injury?

Tamarine Tanasugarn. Just the name is pesky so imagine what she's like on the court. This year has been highlighted by one reult and that was reaching the semis of Hyderabad, a title she won in '03. She has had a handful of top ten wins but seems to flounder when playing high ranked players. Yes a win over 6th ranked Majoli and Mauresmo ( at the time) is very respectable but she takes pride in pushing Capriati to 3 sets last year on a hardcourt. And who could forget her win over Hantuchova last year in New York where she let out a cry of joy before their match was finished. She has been to the third round here before she knows how to work the clay. She also lost twice to Venus on the same court in '98 and '00 ( as well as the Olympics) but is pumped to play Venus. Look for Tammy to hit a high bouncing backhand and a flat forehand. She should come to net as she and Sharapova proved to be a great team at the end of last year.

Weakness: Pure dominance from Venus.

Who has the Edge?

Serve- Venus

Groundies- Venus

Movement- Tanasugarn

Intangibles- Tanasugarn

Volley- Tanasugarn

I don't think Tanasugarn will trouble the American, as she has only achieved 8 games in their 2 meetings in Paris. For Venus, come to net and try and hit a good % of first serves. For Tammy, make sure you try and extend the rally as long as possible.

Matt's Pick: Venus may start off shaky but will make her head-to-head with Tammy an unblemished 3-0 by winning 6-3 6-1.

Thanks