PARIS(AP) Good as she was while winning four consecutive Grand Slam titles in 2002-03, Serena Williams believes her game is better these days.
The 'Serena Now' would definitely beat the 'Other Serena,' just in general. I'm older. I think I'm wiser. I think I'm just a more mature player,'' Williams said Thursday.Back then, it was more nitty-gritty. And now it's more composed and planned-out playing.''
She moved into the third round at the French Open by beating 133rd-ranked Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-2, 6-0. It was a far better performance for Williams than in the first round, when she needed nine match points to get through a three-setter.
Everything clicked for me today, finally,'' she said.It was just a better match. I'm not nearly as upset as I was the other day.''
Williams is eyeing her third major championship in a row and the 11th of her career. She has won two Wimbledons, three U.S. Opens and four Australian Opens, but only one French Open - in 2002 as part of her self-styled Serena Slam.
She calls herself a fan of playing on clay.
I grew up on the clay a lot. I'm totally fine on the clay. My results haven't been where I wanted them to be, but from, like, 9 to 14, I played nothing but clay-court tennis,'' Williams said.I actually love it, and it's really one of my favorite surfaces, because I love to slide.''
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HENIN'S OPINION: Since Justine Henin retired shortly before last year's French Open, becoming the first woman to walk away from the sport while leading the rankings, five players have spent time at No. 1.
Two of them, No. 1 Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic, have never won a Grand Slam title.
``To be honest, I didn't follow a lot of the tour in the last 12 months. But I know who has been No. 1, and the fact that some players are No. 1 and haven't won a Grand Slam ... I think is quite sad,'' Henin said Thursday, during her first visit to Roland Garros in a year.
``I think the tour needs someone - a leader,'' Henin said.
She won seven Grand Slam titles, including four at the French Open, and the tournament named an alley on the grounds for her.
It's very emotional for me to come back, for sure,'' said Henin, who reiterated she has no plans to play professionally again.It was my favorite tournament. I always said that.''
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JELENA AND THE PRESIDENT: Jelena Jankovic is taking nutritional advice from the president of Serbia.
The fifth-seeded Serb reached the third round of the French Open with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia on Thursday, a day after having lunch with Serbian President Boris Tadic.
He gave us some tips,'' said Jankovic, a semifinalist at Roland Garros the past two years and the U.S. Open runner-up in 2008.Did you know if you eat fruit after the meal you get fat? ... But not in the morning. If you eat it late in the afternoon or in the evening, it turns into fat. That's sugar. This is something I heard for the first time.''
Jankovic said she dropped more than 10 pounds recently after noticing she had put on extra weight and wasn't moving as well on court.
I tend to lose weight when I'm playing a lot of matches, when I'm competing, because of that pressure and the nerves,'' she said.I think you burn much more calories when you play a match an hour and a half than when you practice for three or four hours, because of all those nerves you have playing.''
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UNDER THE RADAR: Juan Martin del Potro is ranked No. 5, is considered an up-and-coming tennis star at age 20, and might just be on his way to a lengthy stay at this French Open.
And the Argentine is getting little attention.
That's because the four players ranked ahead of him earn the bulk of the buzz: No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 2 Roger Federer, No. 3 Andy Murray and No. 4 Novak Djokovic.
It's OK with me,'' del Potro said Thursday after reaching the third round at Roland Garros for the first time by beating Viktor Troicki 6-3, 7-5, 6-0.I try and play my matches, and then ... that's OK if the press has decided to focus on the top four.''
Del Potro plays No. 25 Igor Andreev of Russia for a spot in the fourth round.
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AP Sports Writer Chris Lehourites and Associated Press Writer Trung Latieule contributed to this report.