World number three Venus Williams saved a match point before beating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in another three-set marathon 6-7, 6-2, 7-5 at the French Open. The match started on Wednesday but was suspended due to darkness with Safarova clinching the first set 7-6.
In the final set, Williams faced a match point while holding serve at 4-5 but eventually overcame the obstacle, then proceeded to break Safarova’s serve and hold serve once more to close out the match 7-5.
Williams’ victory avoided a shutout of the Americans in the third round with two compatriots Jill Craybas and Alexa Glatch losing their second round matches. The other American player with a chance to proceed to the third round would be Venus’ younger sister Serena who’ll face off Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain later in the day.
Other seeded players that advanced include Jelena Jankovic (5), Svetlana Kuznetsova (7), Caroline Wozniacki (10) and Aleksandra Wozniak (24). Thirteenth-seed Marion Bartoli was unlucky as she lost to Italian veteran Tathiana Garbin in two sets 3-6, 5-7.
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