PARIS(AP) Serena Williams looked ill, and not only because she had lost five games in a row at the French Open.
A trainer paid Williams a visit during a changeover, checked her temperature and gave her pills. Then came a third-set surge, and Williams beat 18-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Saturday, 6-1, 1-6, 6-2.
There was no prescription to help Andy Roddick, who lost to qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Roddick threw rackets and argued with the umpire, but the fits of temper failed to produce a turnaround against an opponent ranked 114th.
The top-ranked Williams appeared in danger when she fell behind 5-love in the second set and summoned the trainer. Soon Williams' court movement improved, her strokes steadied and she advanced to the fourth round.
The seesaw win assured Williams of retaining the No. 1 ranking after the tournament.
On a cloudy, windy, chilly day, the center-court stadium was slow to fill for Williams' match, the first on the schedule. Her aggressive returns had Pavlyuchenkova's serve under constant pressure early, but the talented young Russian - a three-time Grand Slam champion in juniors - suddenly reversed the momentum in the second set.
Williams began to look sluggish during points, took her time between them and occasionally grimaced, while Pavlyuchenkova's booming groundstrokes had her on the defensive.
But in the third set, Williams erased three break points to take the lead for good at 2-1. She again became aggressive with her returns, and whacked the last one at Pavlyuchenkova's feet for the win.
Pavlyuchenkova fell to 8-1 this year in three-set matches.