| | Associated Press
PARIS -- Venus Williams' wide range of interests include
winning the French Open.
But she doesn't want to devote too much thought to the
tournament, even after beating Emilie Loit of France 6-2, 6-2 in
the third round Saturday.
|  | | Venus Williams will continue chasing her first Grand Slam title against 11th-seeded Anke Huber in the fourth round. |
"I'm just trying to move forward, just trying to play tennis,
not think too much about the game," the fourth-seeded Williams
said. "That's when it's easiest."
Williams, 19, who rejoined the women's tour last month after a
six-month layoff because of tendinitis in both wrists, is bidding
for her first Grand Slam title.
"It's quite possible that she could win here," said Martina
Navratilova, who won 18 major titles. "She's definitely a good
enough player. She seems to be committed to the game now. I think
she's serious about her game.
"I think she was sort of, 'Oh, well, this is easy. Maybe I'll
do some designing, go to school.' Then she realized you can't do
that. You have to be committed to the game, no matter how strong or
talented you are."
Williams, however, said she dislikes focusing on one thing. In a
postmatch news conference, she happily talked about her classes at
design school, Olympic archery and even the Venus de Milo.
"I for one get bored very easy," she said. "I know I have to
keep myself diversified in my activities."
Not to dwell on the subject, but Williams' next opponent will be
No. 11 Anke Huber, who eliminated Magdalena Grzybowska 6-2, 6-2.
"I had a good day. I'm happy to be back in Paris," Williams
said. "It's my first Grand Slam of the year and hopefully I can
continue what I'm doing."
No. 5 Conchita Martinez, No. 8 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and No.
16 Barbara Schett also advanced Saturday in straight sets. Martinez swept Silvia Farina 6-1, 6-0. Sanchez-Vicario beat
Magui Serna 7-5, 6-4. Schett eliminated Giulia Casoni 6-2, 6-1.
On Friday, Martina Navratilova played in a Grand Slam
tournament for the first time since 1996. She teamed with Mariaan
de Swardt in doubles to beat Sabine Appelmans and Rita Grande 5-7,
6-1, 6-3.
"It was a blast to be out there," said Navratilova, 43.
"People say, 'Why are you still playing?' I say, 'Because I still
can.' I can still compete obviously and play decent tennis."
Navratilova, who retired from singles in 1994, is trying to add
to her total of 56 Grand Slam tournament titles in singles and
doubles. She plans to play four tournaments this year with de
Swardt, capping the comeback at Wimbledon, where Navratilova was a
nine-time singles champion.
She'll have a chance to tie close friend Billie Jean King's mark
of 20 Wimbledon titles in singles and doubles.
"That's not why I'm playing," Navratilova said. "I wish that
record was out of reach so I wouldn't have to talk about it.
Obviously I'm not going to lose on purpose. I just want to have
fun, create some havoc, maybe win a few matches."
Information from SportsTicker was used in this report.
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