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Patty Schnyder anxious for matchup with top seed

Switzerland's Patty Schnyder beat Belgium's Sabine Applemans 6-4, 6-3 in Tuesday's first round of the US$ 537,000 Paris Open to set up a clash with top-seed Serena Williams.

And despite having never beaten the American, Schnyder says she's far from daunted.

"I feel like I'll have nothing to lose and I've already played her and know something of her game," Schnyder said after Tuesday's victory.

Williams, who had a first-round bye here, has beaten the Swiss left-hander in their two encounters on hard courts. But Schnyder pushed the American to three sets at the 1999 Lipton tournament.

Schnyder then drifted to an end-of-year 21st ranking in 1999 after breaking into the top ten in 1998 with five titles in a banner year.

"I definitely want to move back solidly into the top 20," Schnyder said. "And I feel the year's going well so far."

Singles
1R beat Sabine Appelmans 6-4 6-3
2R lost Serena Williams 2-6 2-6

Doubles with Jeyaseelan
1R lost Boogert/Oremans 6-1 3-6 1-6

Photos

Paris 2000 gallery