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.
The top-ranked Williams appeared in danger when she fell behind 5-love in the second set and summoned the trainer.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here“Just ran out of a little energy out there,” she said, “just fighting a cold and fighting sickness.”
Soon Williams’ court movement improved, her strokes steadied and she advanced to the fourth round.
“Doesn’t matter the score, especially against her,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “She’s a good fighter. She’s really confident and she is Serena.”
The seesaw win assured Williams of retaining the No. 1 ranking after the tournament.
In the completion of a suspended match, Nadia Petrova reached the fourth round. Petrova, seeded 19th, edged No. 15 Aravane Rezai of France, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 10-8. Petrova plays Venus Williams next.
Other winners included Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan and wild card Jarmila Groth of Australia, with both advancing to the fourth round at a major tournament for the first time. No. 18-seeded Shahar Peer and No. 23 Daniela Hantuchova also won.
The third-round showdown between four-time champion Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova was suspended because of darkness at one set apiece. Henin led 6-2, but her streak of 40 consecutive sets won at Roland Garros ended when Sharapova took the second set, 6-3.
On a cloudy, windy, chilly day, the center-court stadium was slow to fill for Serena 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 kept finding the corners.
The pills the trainer gave Williams provided a remedy.
“I don’t what they were, to be honest,” she said. “I just took them. He said they can help me feel better.”
But in the third set, Williams erased three break points to take the lead for good at 2-1. She again became forceful with her returns, and whacked the last one at Pavlyuchenkova’s feet for the win.
“Definitely a weird match,” Williams said. “I played all right. I definitely wasn’t at my best. I just was happy to win, especially against a player that’s on the up and up.”
Pavlyuchenkova, seeded 29th, fell to 8-1 this year in three-set matches. Williams is 100-44 in three-setters.
“After she beat me she has to win the tournament,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “I really hope so.”
Peer won 7-6 (7), 6-2 against No. 13 Marion Bartoli, the last remaining French woman. Hantuchova beat No. 16 Yanina Wickmayer 7-5, 6-3. Shvedova defeated No. 28 Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.
Groth, ranked 107th, defeated fellow Australian Anastasia Rodionova 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Groth’s husband was happy to get the news back home by telephone.
“I just woke him up,” she said. “He was real angry in the beginning, but then he was very happy for me. And then he was kind of sad actually that he can’t be here to watch my success.”
Also on NBCSports.com
PBT: Who's better for Celtics — Suns or Lakers?
NFL: Don't expect magic to end for Favre, Vikings
Baseball: Up close and personal with Longoria
Tennis.com: Federer's legacy could take a hit
Goal.com: Few U.S. roster surprises | Breakdown
Twitter: Follow us @nbc_sports
Serena wins marathonGijon no match for Sevilla
