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PARIS -- The bulk of Venus Williams' 33 career titles have come on fast indoor and outdoor surfaces. No surprise, since Williams set the standard for power tennis when she burst to fame as a teen in 1997.
But here's a little-noticed fact: Three of her last four tournament wins have come on clay.
Whether Williams has found her groove on what most would consider her worst surface during an injury-interrupted season will be put to the test today at the French Open.
Williams plays for a semifinal berth against fast-maturing Czech teen Nicole Vaidisova, who upset top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo.
"Obviously I like to play aggressively, (and) it's very effective on the clay," Williams says. "I can still run a lot of balls down, take some pace off if I have to."
Since winning back-to-back Wimbledons and U.S. Opens in 2000-01, Williams has often stalled. Injuries, the death of her half-sister and outside interests undermined her consistency.
The ascendancy of younger sister Serena, who is sitting out with a knee injury, also kept Williams out of the Grand Slam winner's circle.
After winning the 2001 U.S. Open, Williams went four years without a Grand Slam title. She reversed that trend by beating Lindsay Davenport in the longest Wimbledon final to capture a third All-England Club championship last year.
The victory revalidated her status as a threat.
"You can't ever really count her out or her sister," says Martina Hingis, who advanced to the quarterfinals Monday by completing a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win against Shahar Peer of Israel.
Still, for Williams, 25, it has been another season of stops and starts. She crashed out of the Australian Open in the first round and then was sidelined for more than three months with arm and elbow injuries. Williams, who is playing just her fourth event of 2006, resumed the season on European clay, reaching the quarterfinals in Warsaw and the semifinals in Rome.
Despite the layoffs, her confidence doesn't seem to suffer. Williams says that no matter what her level of play is, she knows she can "take it to the next level."
"It's really ... a secure feeling," she adds.
"The thing we forget about Venus is that she's won five majors," ESPN commentator and former pro Mary Joe Fernandez says. "Even if she's not confident, somewhere deep down she believes that she can win."
Belief and execution are two different things, and Williams has been brilliant and ordinary this spring. She beat Hingis in Warsaw and then lost to her in Rome amid a slew of errors. Against fourth-round opponent Patty Schnyder, Williams sprayed 19 unforced errors in the first set and then made only 16 in the final two sets.
"You know, like when I play anyone else, it's all about if I'm going to make 50 errors or if I'm going to make 10," Williams acknowledges. "Unfortunately, in Rome I made about 30,000."
As her opponents this week have learned, a healthy Williams is dangerous, even if her game is unpredictable.
"She's early on the ball and has a lot of pressure with her presence," says Schnyder, who has not beaten Williams in eight tries.
Williams' path to the final isn't a cakewalk, but her draw is favorable. Hingis, No.2 seed Kim Clijsters and reigning French Open champ Justine Henin-Hardenne all are in the other half.
Williams will certainly have the experience edge on 17-year-old Vaidisova, seeded 16th.
"I've only played her once about a year ago," says No.11 seed Williams, who beat the hard-hitting Czech on clay in their only previous meeting in the 2005 Istanbul final. "I'm sure she's improved her game since."
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