Justine Henin and Serena Williams, who fought an acrimonious French Open battle four years ago, meet again in the highlight of the opening day of quarter-final action in Roland Garros on Wednesday.
World number one Henin, chasing a third successive crown, beat Williams in three sets in the 2003 semi-final on her way to her first triumph in the French capital.
The third set was marred by several controversial line calls and the crowd took Henin's side, booing Williams, who burst into tears after leaving the court.
Williams, who once ruled the women's game but has dropped to world number eight after a string of injuries, signalled she was on her way back by winning this year's Australian Open.
Third seed Svetlana Kuznetsva of Russia, who succumbed to Henin in last year's final and is regarded by the Belgian as her most dangerous opponent again this year, will face Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, a quarter-finalist here already two years ago.
On a busy day for Serbian tennis, fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, this year's sensation with three titles, two of them on clay, meets promising Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova.
World number two Maria Sharapova, who is not a her best on clay and has never gone beyond the quarter-finals here, might struggle against fellow Russia Anna Chakvetadze.
The women will steal the show on a day with just two men's quarter-finals.
In one, world number one Roger Federer, chasing the only Grand Slam title to elude him so far, faces gritty Spaniard Tommy Robredo.
In the other, Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, the fourth seed, takes on Argentine baseliner Guillermo Canas, who has moved up the rankings ever since making his return from a 15-month doping ban in September.
© 2024 Rediff.com -