Serena advances

PARIS – As usual, Serena Williams has made her way into the third round at a Grand Slam tournament.

The fifth-seeded Williams quickly erased a second-set deficit by winning the last four games to beat Mathilde Johansson of France 6-2, 7-5 at the French Open on Wednesday.

“I didn’t want to go three sets today,” said Williams, the only past women’s champion competing at Roland Garros. “I thought I could close it out in two sets and it was getting dark. I’m tired of playing so late and in the dark and I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to close it out before then.’ “

Williams has made it to the third round at 33 of the 34 major championships she’s entered during her career. The only time she didn’t was a second-round loss at the 1998 Australian Open in her Grand Slam debut.

Since then, she has won eight major titles and gotten 10 years older. For a while now, she has found herself facing players who want to make a name for themselves by beating her.

“Especially if they’re younger then they want to win,” Williams said. “Everyone seems to want to beat me.”

Johansson is only three years younger than the 26-year-old Williams, but she was playing in just her sixth Grand Slam tournament.

“Of course, I was nervous,” said the Frenchwoman, who reached the second round at Roland Garros for the third straight year. “But I was not petrified.”

Part of Williams’ success has come from her fitness, but she wasn’t prepared to say that female tennis players are the best athletes in the world.

“I couldn’t play soccer, because to be running back and forth for 45 minutes I would probably pass out somewhere between there,” Williams said. “And then I think people who play water polo are very fit, because I can only swim for 10 seconds and then I get really tired.”

But exerting energy is only part of the equation for a successful Grand Slam tournament for Williams, who keeps calm by watching TV programs on her computer.

“Just downloaded ‘The Jeffersons,’ ” Williams said. “I have a lot to watch.”

Maybe that’s why, despite rain playing havoc with the schedule so far at the clay-court tournament, Williams has had no problem with the delays.

“I always stay inside. I’m a real recluse,” Williams said. “Like, I’ve always done that in a Grand Slam. Like, for two weeks I’ll just stay so focused.”