Preview of Monday's Women's Matches A look at the four fourth-round women's matches at the French Open on Monday. Players seeds are in parentheses. Li Na of China (7) vs. Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan (qualifier) Li Na came into Paris under an enormous amount of pressure, having to defend a Grand Slam title for the first time. Having done little since making history as the first Asian Grand Slam champion when she won the French Open last year, Li, ranked seventh in the world, faced the possibility of an exit from the top 10 with an early loss. But aside from a slow start against Christina McHale in the third round, Li has looked extremely solid, and has not dropped more than two games in any of the six sets she has won. For Shvedova, this tournament represents a return to where she once was. Shvedova, who has won doubles titles at Wimbledon and the United States Open, reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 French Open but has since been derailed by injury. Though she originally had to battle through the qualifying draw, one more win would most likely qualify her for the Olympics this summer. Varvara Lepchenko of the United States (unseeded) vs. Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic (4) Varvara Lepchenko has played spoiler throughout this clay season, throwing herself as a wrench into the Olympic ambitions of Venus Williams and Vania King, and more recently ousting Francesca Schiavone in Paris, stopping the Italian veteran from making a third straight final at Roland Garros. She next comes up against a fellow left-hander in Petra Kvitova, a matchup which might not be as unfavorable as it would initially seem. Kvitova seemed to struggle in the heat Saturday, and looked completely out of sorts while losing the second set to unseeded Nina Bratchikova. Kvitova has twice reached the fourth round in Paris, but has never made it to the quarterfinals. Lepchenko will get a lot of balls back, but Kvitova has far more finishing weapons (and a much better serve) than Schiavone. If the conditions are rough, Lepchenko has room for an upset, but otherwise Kvitova's game should prove too much for Lepchenko. Arantxa Rus of Netherlands (unseeded) vs. Kaia Kanepi of Estonia (23) Despite beating a rusty Kim Clijsters at this tournament last year, few would have picked Arantxa Rus to make another run at Roland Garros this year - especially when she drew into the same part of the draw as Serena Williams. But Williams's stunning loss to Virginie Razzano in the first round blew open that section of the draw, and it is the defensive-minded Rus who has emerged from the rubble, becoming the first Dutch man or woman into the second week of a Grand Slam since 2007. Kanepi, ever stealthy, has been to this stage a number of times, and should be considered a heavy favorite to make her fourth career Grand Slam quarterfinal. Her closing ability against Caroline Wozniacki left something to be desired, to say the least (blowing a 6-1, 5-1 lead before eventually winning in three), but her power and experience should be enough against the relatively weaponless Rus. Klara Zakopalova of Czech Republic (unseeded) vs. Maria Sharapova of Russia (2) Though not as immediately as Rus, Maria Sharapova has also been a great beneficiary of Serena Williams's early exit. Though once her worst surface, Sharapova has been unfazed by clay in the past couple years, including back-to-back titles at the prestigious Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome and a win on indoor clay in April in Stuttgart, Germany. Sharapova's movement has changed from liability to weapon on the surface; in her first two matches against Alexandra Cadantu and Ayumi Morita, Sharapova allowed her opposition to hit a combined one winner. Zakopalova will get a lot of balls back, but the confident, consistent play of Sharapova should carry her into the quarterfinals with considerable ease.