Roland Garros – Women’s Friday Preview

Samantha Stosur vs. Gisela Dulko

Stosur is playing deadly once again at the French Open as she prepares to face a tough opponent in Gisela Dulko.

Samantha Stosur of Australia has made 2 deep runs at the French Open in the last 2 years and she appears to have a head of steam once again at this month's event. The Aussie has ripped through the draw so far and she looks good to win her third round match at Roland Garros on Friday.

Stosur will face Argentina's Gisela Dulko on Court Philippe Chatrier, a match that will mark their third career meeting.

The previous 2 match-ups have both come on clay and Stosur defeated Dulko in both contests. Most recently they met in Madrid and Stosur did drop a set in the match however in the end she prevailed.

In terms of form at Roland Garros, both players have been sharp as they are both into the third round after two straight-sets victories. Stosur is playing with more dominance however as the 8th seed is 24-7 in terms of games won and lost while Dulko is 24-13.

Stosur and Dulko are scheduled to play first on Friday from Court Philippe Chatrier, a match that is scheduled to start at 11am CET.

Jelena Jankovic vs. Bethanie Mattek

Serbian superstar Jelena Jankovic takes on American hope Bethanie Mattek-Sands to further her chances at the Open this year.

Former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic takes on American sensation Bethanie Mattek Sands for a place in the fourth round of the 2011 French Open, seasons second Grand Slam event being played here at Roland Garros in Paris, France. Jelena Jankovic has been without a title for 14 months now and has somehow managed a place in the top 10 in WTA rankings by the virtue of her consistent quarterfinal or semifinal appearances every now and then. Jankovic's inconsistent performance over the period of time failed her at the grand stages in tennis. After finishing runner up in US Open 2008, Jankovic came close to winning a grand slam title in 2010 French Open but lost miserably in the semifinals to an aggressive baseliner, Samantha Stosur. Jankovic must add an element of ferocity and aggression in her game to get past the best in the business. As opposed to her struggles in various events, Jankovic has been unchallenged in the first two rounds here at Roland Garros and is looking in great form.

Jankovic's opponent, American Bethanie Mattek Sands has recently emerged as the leading lady of American tennis in the absence of Williams sisters. Mattek-Sands' unique fashion sense has also kept her in limelight. Although, her game has been tested to limits in the first two rounds here at the French Open by Varvara Lepchenko and Arantxa Parra Santonja, who both took their respective encounters to the third set before losing them to the American.

Both players have contested three matches before and Mattek-Sands has a surprising edge at 2-1. However, it was Jankovic, who won the pair's previous meeting in Rome last year in 3 sets.

Jankovic definitely has an edge over Mattek-Sands on the red clay. However, Mattek-Sands' improved play will create troubles for the Serbian in closing the encounter handily.

Julia Goerges vs. Marion Bartoli

The French crowd and the fans world over await the start of this nail-biting contest between home favourite Marion Bartoli and German giant killer Julia Goerges.

German star Julia Goerges takes on home favourite, Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli for a place in the fourth round of the 2011 French Open, season's second Grand Slam event being played here at the historic Roland Garros in Paris, France.

After claiming her maiden WTA singles title last year in Bad Gastein, Julia Goerges surprised everyone when she held a considerable set and a break lead against one of WTA's finest Maria Sharapova. More success followed when she beat players like Victoria Azarenka, Samantha Stosur and World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki to claim her first premier level title in Stuttgart, Germany at the Porsche tennis Grand Prix. Goerges once again outclassed Wozniacki in a tight three setter weeks later in Madrid to prove that her win was not a flash in the pan. With so many achievements in a single season, Goerges has emerged as one of the favourites to win the title at this year's Open. Goerges had contrasting wins in the first two rounds against Mathilde Johansson and Czech Lucie Safarova, who took the first set before losing the next two.

Goerges' opponent is the French No.1 and a crowd favourite as well. Marion Bartoli will carry the home fan hopes into this exciting clash with the German star. Bartoli made a good start to the season with two semifinal finishes in Brisbane and Doha before finding top form in the first premier mandatory event of the year, BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. More success followed when she reached the finals in Strasbourg but lost to another in-form German Andrea Petkovic. Currently ranked No.11 in the world, Bartoli has 5 WTA singles titles to her name.

Both players have contested only one match before and Bartoli has won it in straight sets at last year's Wimbledon. Where the Frenchwoman will have the howling fan support, Goerges will attempt to maintain her focus in front of a difficult French crowd to seal the deal.

Rebecca Marino vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova

Svetlana Kuznetsova, a former champion at Roland Garros, looks as though she will be in for a battle on Friday as she faces Canada's Rebecca Marino.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Roland Garros champion from 2 years ago, is into the third round at the current French Open and she is on the prowl for another deep run. Next up for the Russian is Rebecca Marino of Canada, a player who is clearly on the rise on the women's tour and by most measures their match-up looks as though it will be competitive on Friday.

Marino, from Vancouver, is just 20 years old and this year she is making her Roland Garros debut. She remains the only Canadian player alive in the 2011 French Open for either the men's or women's side as Frank Dancevic is out, Milos Raonic is out, and Aleksandra Wozniak is out as well.

Kuznetsova and Marino have yet to meet on tour and that does make the outcome for Friday's match hard to predict. Marino is only ranked 60th at this point in her career while Kuznetsova is 14th however they are probably more closely matched than what those rankings imply.

The reason for that is that Marino has made improvements in her game in the last year, improvements that might make her more like a top 30 player and that appears be where she will end up, if healthy, by the end of the 2010 season.

Kuznetsova did basically nothing in Rome and Madrid heading into the French Open as the Russian fell in the first round of both of those Premier Mandatory tournaments. Those losses included a loss to Greta Arn and if Marino senses weakness during the match on Friday, she's definitely a strong enough player to send off the former champ.

Their match is scheduled second on the Order of Play for Court 1 with a stadium start time of 11am CET.