Venus, Serena pass tests, reach fourth at French

1:51 PM ET

PARIS — Serena Williams needed five match points after waiting out a rain delay of more than 2½ hours, but she eventually moved into the fourth round of the French Open with a 6-4, 7-6 (10) victory over 26th-seeded Kristina Mladenovic of France.

In a tight, well-played match at Court Philippe Chatrier, action was suspended Saturday when a thunderstorm arrived right before Williams and Mladenovic began the second-set tiebreaker.

Once they resumed, Williams erased one set point for Mladenovic at 9-8 with a swinging forehand volley winner. Four times, Williams was a point from victory in the tiebreaker — at 6-5, 7-6, 8-7 and 10-9 — and couldn’t close it out. But on the fifth opportunity for Williams, Mladenovic pushed a forehand wide to end the match.

She will be joined in the fourth round by her sister, Venus, who now needs one more victory to reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros for the first time in 10 years.

Serena Williams, after failing to convert on four previous match points, finally put away Kristina Mladenovic to win the second-set tiebreaker and advance to the fourth round of the French Open. Etienne Laurent/EPA

Serena had plenty of chances to take control earlier, but she converted only 1 of 12 break points, including going 0-for-9 in the second set. She saved all four break points she faced in the …

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