Serena Williams

Serena Williams will have the opportunity to defend her Rome title when she goes up against Sara Errani in Sunday’s final.  Serena exacted revenge on Ana Ivanovic in the semi-finals with a three set victory, 6-1 3-6 6-1 in one hour and 36 minutes.  Serena was pretty flawless in the first and third sets.  It was one of those matches where neither player was playing their best at the same time.  Ivanovic did really well to win the second set and she has had the perfect warm-up for Roland Garros with plenty of matches during this clay court season.

This was the first set that Serena has lost all week and she has looked very sharp all week.  Again, there were no signs of the thigh injury that affected her in Madrid.  In this form, she’s going to be very difficult to beat.  Step forward, Sara Errani who has a rather ominous task in the final.  Errani has had a tremendous week, notching superb victories over Li Na in the quarter-finals and Jelena Jankovic in the semi-finals.  The Italian was struggling with breathing problems in her first round match with Chanelle Scheepers, which looked to possibly be linked to nerves.  She has really motored through the rounds, losing just one set to Li in the quarters.  Errani will also play in the doubles final on Sunday.

Errani won’t want to remember their last match on clay.  Serena absolutely dismantled her game in the semi-finals of Roland Garros last year, winning 6-0 6-1 in just 46 minutes.  I can’t say this is a final I am particularly looking forward too.  Realistically speaking,  I think Errani will do well to win more than four games.  Anyone out there think that Sara can win a set or even the match?

Prediction: Serena d. Errani in 2 sets

In the polls for the semi-finals, Ivanovic got a lot of support, but 58% correctly went for Serena.  34% of readers were successful in picking Errani to win the first semi-final.