Serena Williams's serves at the French Open clocked in at 104 m.p.h.   (Reuters Photo)

By Rob Gloster
AP Sports Writer
Saturday, May 30, 1998; 3:16 p.m. EDT

PARIS — Serena Williams has become ``La Terreur'' of the French Open.

When she's not making opponents flinch at 104 mph serves or slamming backhand winners, the 16-year-old Williams intimidates them by hovering menacingly close while returning serve.

Williams won 10 straight games Saturday while overpowering 15th-seeded Dominique Van Roost 6-1, 6-1 on center court.

While Williams was one of five American women to reach the fourth round, the last survivor among the U.S. men — 11th-seeded Michael Chang — was defeated by unseeded Spaniard Francisco Clavet.

Chang, the only American man to reach the third round, had a trainer massage his thighs in the third set of his 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-4 loss, a match that lasted nearly three hours.

Chang, the 1989 French Open champion, sat with a towel over his head at the end of the center-court match.

``I think that I was hurting a little physically out there. Maybe I didn't prepare as well as I should have,'' he said. ``Obviously, in the French Open, you have to be very physically fit.''

Michael Chang was the last American man to fall in this year's French Open. (AP Photo)

American men already had been doomed to their worst Grand Slam showing in at least 30 years when Chang was the only one of 12 original participants to make it past the second round.

In Williams' victory, Van Roost won just four points in her first five service games and the American, standing five feet inside the baseline to return second serves, menaced her Belgian opponent into six double faults.

One usher on center court warned a writer watching the match: ``This is not for your eyes. This is carnage.''

Williams joined her older sister, Venus, among the final 16 in her French Open debut — just her second tournament on clay. In her first clay-court event, she lost to Venus in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open earlier this month.

``A lot of people say you have to rally on the clay,'' Serena said, ``but I think it's really exaggerated what they say. I don't feel my game has to change at all on the clay.''

Joining the Williams sisters in the fourth round was another American, second-seeded Lindsay Davenport, who beat Russia's Elena Likhovtseva 7-5, 7-5.

Also advancing Saturday were No. 4 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, a two-time champion who faces Serena Williams in the next round, No. 7 Conchita Martinez, defending champion and 10th-seeded Iva Majoli and No. 14 Sandrine Testud.

Russian qualifier Marat Safin, the men's teen wonder of the French Open, had 11 aces while extending his remarkable run with a third-round victory over Daniel Vacek.

The 116th-ranked Safin, who upset Andre Agassi in the first round and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten in the second, left Vacek muttering to himself throughout the 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 match.

Safin, who slammed 18 aces in five grueling sets against Kuerten on Friday, said he was drained after facing a series of slices, chips and drop shots from Vacek.

``I'm very tired. I will have tomorrow off all day, so I can sleep,'' he said.

Tenth-seeded Richard Krajicek was inconsistent on his serve and lost 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 to Cedric Pioline of France, leaving just one of the top 11 men's seeds — No. 3 Marcelo Rios of Chile — in the tournament.

Williams lost the opening game against Van Roost, but then had little trouble in what was expected to be her first real test of the tournament.

Williams drew gasps from fans as she slammed shots past Van Roost and won nine straight points in one span of the first set.

Her next match should be much tougher. Sanchez Vicario is an excellent defensive player who thrives against powerful hitters, and has much more experience than Williams on clay.

``She hits the ball really hard. I will have to be able to put her on the run, so she's not in position to hit as hard,'' Sanchez Vicario said. ``She has a lot of power.''

Though at 5-foot-10 she's nearly four inches shorter than her sister, Serena is a more muscular 145 pounds. She accentuates her powerful build with a T-back dress that bares her toned shoulders.

``I guess it looks like I have a lot of muscles here,'' she said. ``I don't lift weights. I don't bench press. I mean, my arms are just naturally like this. I hate lifting weights. I just hate doing that stuff. It's too much.''

Serena said she chose the revealing outfit because of its style, not in an effort to impress foes with her build.

``Maybe next time when I play, I'll go like this,'' she laughed, flexing her back muscles.