Serena Survives in Charleston

She's never won the Family Circle Cup. Runner-up to her nemesis in 2003, a mere weeks before that same player became infamous for The Hand in Paris.

Serena Willliams wants to win the green clay Tier 1 event and she wants to win it badly. After she'd fallen on the slippery stuff and dropped the first set, she got up and played some of her best tennis against an equally-matched-on-the-day opponent in Katerina Srebotnik and prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

It's the stuff from which champions are molded. Not playing her best, re-acclimating herself to the slippery stuff in her first clay event of the spring, the champion found a way to win.

Next, she'll face another champion in Maria Sharapova, a champion who won her first claycourt event in Amelia Island plantation last week, who's trying to pull of a rare southern American green clay double.

They've never played on clay. Serena has trounced the Australian Open champion in their last two encounters, losing a total of five games.

Serena ought to win and advance to the semifinals. Will she?