Serena Slam No More, All-Belgian Waffle Final for Breakfast at Roland Garros

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
The Belgians came to play Thursday, with (4) Justine Henin-Hardenne coming back from a break in the third to oust (1) Sister Serena in one of the best matches of the fortnight, and (2) Kim Clijsters thumping a tired Nadia Petrova in straights. With the raucous French crowd, which of course included many flag-waving horn-wearing Belgian supporters, cheering her errors in the deciding set, the ugly American came out in Serena, drawing boos from the crowd when she barely broke stride on her way to the sidelines in shaking H-H's hand to end the contest. "She wasn't very happy, but that is sport...that is tennis," Henin-Hardenne said. "I stayed focused on what I had to do. It is never easy to play Serena. It is a very intense emotional moment." The diminutive Belgian unleashed her ferocious backhand throughout the match, stunning Serena by out-powering the burly American during key baseline rallies in Serena's first slam loss since the 2001 US Open, a streak of 33 matches. After her QF win Serena had said, "I never feel pressure," but the butterflies were obvious from the start as the No. 1 coughed up a handful of unforced errors, and H-H raced to a 3-0 lead. After H-H held for 4-2 when Serena netted a drop shot, the normally-composed American let loose a scream of frustration, then dropped her serve the next game. With Serena serving at 4-2, 30-love, two controversial calls turned the tide and H-H ran out the set amid shaky play from both players. Clijsters for her part fought through a tight first set and a set point, then ran through the second in beating a limping Petrova to gain her second Roland Garros final. "I think I was struggling a little bit with the forehand. I think I wasn't positioning very well and I didn't have the rhythm and also didn't have a lot of break points in the beginning," Clijsters said. The unseeded Russian looked like a war casualty with her left thigh and ankle heavily strapped, but kept the Belgian off balance early with some booming first serves to hang in the first set. "I actually wanted to get that set because I was very limited on the energy level today," said Petrova, who appeared physically and mentally spent by the end. The all-Belgian final all-Waffle House final should be fun stuff, even without Serena.
Today we get the women's doubles semis, with (4)Black/Likhovtseva vs. (2)Clijsters/Sugiyama, and (1)Ruano Pascual/Suarez vs. (9) Stick Girl/Rubin.

X-MAIL
From R.D., Sydney:
"I have noticed a negative bias in your writing toward one Lleyton Hewitt. It is obvious to me that you are an American woosy-ass Coors Light drinker with a pro-Yank axe to grind. Lleyton is a true man, unlike your miserable little Andy Roddick. (Expletive deleted) you, (expletive deleted) all your yank mates and (expletive deleted) the Canadians, too."

From Tennis-X Editors: Wow, do you kiss your mother with that mouth, R.D.?

FRENCH OPEN TOP 10 ACTIVE WINNING PERCENTAGE (UPDATED)
Juan Carlos Ferrero strengthened his standing over Gustavo Kuerten with his QF win for the best winning percentage at Roland Garros among active players, while Al Costa jumps ahead of Marat Safin to No. 4, and Tommy Robredo drops to No. 7 after his loss (minimum 10 matches, through June 5, 2003):

1. Ferrero, Juan Carlos (ESP), 21-3 .875
2. Kuerten, Gustavo (BRA), 32-5 .865
3. Agassi, Andre (USA), 51-14 .785
4. Costa, Albert (ESP), 28-8 .778
5. Safin, Marat (RUS), 17-5 .773
6. Kafelnikov, Yevgeny (RUS), 31-10 .756
7. Robredo, Tommy (ESP), 9-3 .750
8. Corretja, Alex (ESP), 34-12 .739
9. Moya, Carlos (ESP), 19-7 .731
10. Coria, Guillermo (ARG), 8-3 .727

TENNIS-X TOP SINGLES TITLE CHOKE LEADERS
Players on the ATP and WTA Tours with more losses than wins in tournament finals in 2003. Will Guillermo Coria get a chance to even up his 2003 record in finals at Roland Garros? (minimum two runner-up efforts, through May 26, 2003):

1. Lindsey Davenport (USA) 1-3
2. Monica Seles (USA) 0-2
3T. Agustin Calleri (ARG) 1-2
3T. Guillermo Coria (ARG) 1-2
3T. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) 1-2
3T. Andy Roddick (USA) 1-2

TENNIS-X MEN'S BOTTOM 10 RANKINGS
Listed below are the Bottom 10 worst players on the men's tour in 2003. How long can Andre Sa maintain his perfect losing record (0-16 now) in pursuit of Vince Spadea's 21-loss mark? The top four strengthen their standing with first-round losses this week at Roland Garros, while former French runner-up Magnus Norman debuts at No. 10 (minimum 10 matches, through June 6, 2003):
1. Sa, Andre (BRA) 0-13 .000
2. Krajan, Zeljko (CRO) 2-10 .167
3. Mamiit, Cecil (USA) 2-9 .182
4. Enqvist, Thomas (SWE) 4-16 .200
5. Burgsmuller, Lars (GER) 5-12 .294
6. Gaudenzi, Andrea (ITA) 3-7 .300
7. Labadze, Irakli (GEO) 5-11 .313
8. Ferrer, David (ESP) 7-15 .318
9. Voinea, Adrian (ROM) 7-14 .333
10T. Carlsen, Kenneth (DEN) 6-12 .333
10T. Kratochvil, Michel (SUI) 6-12 .333
10T. Norman, Magnus (SWE) 6-12 .333

TOUR NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Brad Gilbert is in London with Andy Roddick, molding his student on the grasscourts: "We're just starting out," Gilbert told ESPN. "First couple of days, things are going well. I'm excited about the opportunity. We're just practicing hard right now. We're not really making any changes. We've got Queen's coming up next week and Wimbledon after that. We're just kind of feeling each other out. We're not making any technical changes yet. It's too soon and to do that you also need some time off." Too bad, you're going to need some time off to fix that backhand...ESPN commentator Mal Washington has Ferrero and Coria both winning their semis in five...Kim Clijsters and Nadia Petrova both share the same birthday, June 8…Andre Agassi and Sebastien Grosjean have taken wildcards at Queen's, the grasscourt event that starts on Monday...Former Mark Philippoussis coach Peter McNamara was told of his sacking by his management company last month and has still not spoken to Philippoussis. "No one came to me," McNamara told Australia's The Age. "I got a message from IMG, but that's the way it goes. It's tough times for the kid. I wish him the best. It's up to him to come to me if he wants to talk to me. He knows I've been there since he was 12. I like Mark and he has to make decisions for himself and I hope he's made the right decision."...Brian Baker, the new future of American tennis, defeated top seeded Marco Baghdatis in the junior boys quarterfinals…Al Costa will turn 28 this month, and has spent seven more hours on court than semifinal opponent Juan Carlos Ferrero…AFP news feed headline: "Williams ousted by Henin-Hardenne in French Open final" Stone!...Martin Verkerk celebrated reaching the semifinals of Roland Garros by attending a private concert by Simply Red at the famous Manray restaurant in Paris (hey, Dutchman, the '80s are over)...Are those adidas jump suits worn by the many cute Chatrier usher girls ugly or what?…Spanish 16-year-old Rafael Nadal (who couldn't play Roland Garros with injury) won the media's Burgeon Prize which goes to the most promising player...Tennis Canada has announced a 10-year partnership with Katz Group Canada Ltd. for Katz Group Canada to become the primary naming rights partner for the new National Tennis Centre in Toronto. The new $45 million Rexall Centre will be named after Katz Group Canada's private label brand, and will provide year-round training for crappy Canuck players...Featured in a 10-page photo spread, James Blake models the latest in "summer whites" in the June GQ…STAT DU JOUR: En route to the RG semifinals, Albert Costa has spent 18-hours, 31-minutes. Last year, he spent a total of 19-hours, 17-minutes to win the title…WEATHER: Looks like a nice day here in Paris…TV TIME: NBC is first on in the morning with tape of the Coria-Verkerk match. ESPN comes on a 1pm (EST) with tape of Ferrero-Costa.