The world No. 1 needed two hours and 11 minutes to defeat Mladenovic in a match that was interrupted by rain.
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“It was definitely a challenge for me”, Williams said. Next up for him is a match against No. 2 Andy Murray, a two-time major champion.
Defending champion Serena Williams must wait to seal a place in the French Open last 16 after torrential rain stopped her match against Kristina Mladenovic. One break was enough to give her the first set 6-4 but Williams had to fight hard in the second set. When the French No 1 served at 4-5 she went 0-40 down, saved two set points with a backhand victor and an ace but then missed a forehand to give Williams the set. The American had yet to get a break point, but there was no doubt that she was eager to get one and she showed it when she pushed Mladenovic to the limit in a tough game for the Frenchwoman that eventually hold to be 4-4. “I’m happy with the fact that I was able to continue”.
“I didn’t even realize she was coaching”, Serena said earlier this tournament about Henin, who is a year her junior.
Thiem, the 13th seed, outmuscled German teenager Alexander Zverev in four sets and plays Marcel Granollers next, rather than more illustrious Spaniard Rafael Nadal who rocked the tournament on Friday when he withdrew with a wrist injury.
The Serb was never in any danger of losing to Britain’s Aljaz Bedene but had to race through the points to win 6-2 6-3 6-3 before the light made the courts unplayable. This is the first time since 2010 that both sisters have reached the second week of the tournament.
The elder Williams, who will turn 36 next month, has appeared in the French Open 19 times, more than any other woman who played the singles tournament this year. In the fourth round, she’ll face Carla Suarez Navarro, who topped Dominika Cibulkova in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 on Saturday.
The Serb, victor of the last three Grand Slam tournaments, has seen his chances of adding the French title considerably improved by the shock injury withdrawal of nine-time champion Rafael Nadal.
But while the 34-year-old readily admitted that she had not been at her best, she felt that Mladenovic deserved credit for her battling display. Williams shifted gears at key times, however, taking the win after a long tiebreak. As thunder and lightning rocked Roland Garros, Kristina had to save three break points in the fourth game of the second set, two more in the sixth and another in the eighth.
Williams will face Elina Svitolina in the next round after the 18th seed defeated Ana Ivanovic.
The fourth-seeded Spaniard played almost flawlessly while beating Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-3, 6-0 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Svitolina, who had won only one match on clay this year before arriving here, is being helped by Justine Henin, who won this title four times.
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Trying to become the first woman to win consecutive titles at Roland Garros since Henin took three in a row from 2005-07, Williams knows she will have to do a better job of capitalizing on chances than she did against Mladenovic, 23, who called it a dream to finally get to play against someone she grew up watching on TV. As the rain started to come down in Paris, Mladenovic fired an ace to force a second set tiebreak.
