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Williams, Capriati, Mauresmo win in Rome
Serena Williams looked sharp in her second match back after nearly a month off with a knee injury.
She wasn't exactly thrilled, however, with her 6-1, 6-3 victory over 97th-ranked Dally Randriantefy in the Italian Open's third round Thursday.
"I don't think I played as well as I could have, so I'm not very satisfied right now at all," Williams said.
She wasted two match points while trying to serve out the match at 5-2 in the second set. Randriantefy, a two-time African junior champion from Madagascar, eventually won that game.
But Williams then broke serve to end the contest.
"I had opportunities to close out the match earlier, and I think the scoreline could have been a little different," she said.
Still, the six-time Grand Slam tournament champion looked much better than in her second-round win against Maria Sanchez Lorenzo.
Williams' big goal right now is to peak for the French Open, which starts May 24.
"I'm close. I could get better," she said. "There was definitely a level of improvement. I think each match I'm getting better, so I'm looking forward to my next round."
Next up for Williams: ninth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the quarterfinals. Kuznetsova beat No. 7 Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4).
Also winning Thursday were second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo and No. 5 Jennifer Capriati.
Mauresmo, a three-time finalist in Rome, overpowered 1993-96 Italian Open champion Conchita Martinez 6-3, 6-4. Capriati eliminated No. 12 Paola Suarez 6-2, 6-2 for her second consecutive easy victory.
"I felt like I was playing really well, hitting all my shots, serving well, even came to the net a few times," said Capriati, who has never advanced past the semifinals in her 10 previous appearances in Rome.
Her quarterfinal opponent will be No. 16 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Flavia Pennetta of Italy.
Mauresmo next faces Silvia Farina Elia, the 10th-seeded Italian, who beat Russia's Maria Sharapova 7-6 (3), 6-0 in her second match of the day.
Farina Elia saved a break and set point at 5-6 in the first set and then took control in the tiebreaker. In the second set, the 17-year-old Sharapova was bothered by a strained left thigh strain, which she had taped during an injury timeout at 3-0.
Earlier Thursday, Farina Elia won her rain-delayed second-round match against Meghann Shaughnessy of the United States 6-2, 7-5.
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