Pesky Petrova to Face Ferocious Farova in Paris

(JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

I just watched the Nadia Petrova/Amélie Mauresmo semifinal on The Tennis Channel tape delay and while the quality of tennis wasn't consistently high, it featured more drama and momentum swings in any women's match I've seen in recent memory. The third set breaker was really good stuff and the fact that a literally dizzy Petrova could win on a clean return winner off an excellent serve up the T from Mauresmo, the defending champ and homegirl, showed that while her brain may often betray her, the Russian has a big heart.

As for the Justin Henin/Lucie Safarova semifinal: Lucie just outhit Henin, who was playing her first tournament since her divorce, from everywhere on the court. Even though she was down a break in both sets, it was more from her own doing than Henin's. Lucie hits flat and hard off both sides and goes for the corners, a la Lindsay Davenport. But she moves well enough to counter almost everything Henin threw at her and she clearly has the belief that she can and should be beating these top players.