Early Encounter

What a third-round match up.

Venus Williams, arguably one of the most talented women players of all time, takes on up-and-comer Jelena Jankovic, the Serb seeded fourth, who seems poised to make her first bold statement at a major.

Such a match-up could mean both things for these two women: a chance at re-claiming glory for Venus and the opportunity to strike Grand Slam gold for Jankovic.

The last time these two met in the third-round of a slam was just last year, when Jankovic de-throned Ms. Williams as defending Wimbledon champion. This time around? I'm sticking with J-squared here, she's my pick to win the whole thing.

The reason I like Jankovic over Venus at this point is not only her relentless consistency, but her ability to play the entire court so well. She weathered an incredible Venus storm in Charleston. If anything, fast forward to the last two minutes of this video, it's great women's tennis:



They're up first on Chatrier. Hopefully the French will arrive early to see such a show.