Safina makes winning start; Sharapova advances after three set victory

Top seed Dinara Safina won her debut match at the French Open in a double bagel score, and Maria Sharapova also won her first match of the week, but in three sets.

Safina easily advanced to the second round after demolishing Anne Keothavong, 60 60.

"I came on court expecting a tough match because she played well in Warsaw. Then I started playing and I felt very good," Safina said. "After I shook her hand she told me I could have at least given her one game. I can imagine it's not nice to feel like that on the court but my head was so into the match."

No. 3 seed Venus Williams went to three sets against American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, eventually winning with a score of 61 46 62.

"Obviously I'm happy to win and play well in the first set and also in the third," Williams said. "I'm definitely a third set player. Once I get to the third set, I feel a new level coming. It takes a little bit of everything on this surface. Will and a little luck, some winners... You've got to do the right thing at the right time."

Sharapova, who played her first tournament last week in Warsaw, faced Ekaterina Yakimova in her first match at the Roland Garros, and won it with a score of 36 61 62.

"I started pretty lousy. Even though I was up a break I wasn't doing the right things, and I was letting her play well. I was a little sloppy," Sharapova said. "But I totally changed it around. I started playing a lot more aggressively and the match changed after the first few games of the second set."

"This is the first time in my career where I can say I don't have expectations. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, how my shoulder is going to feel. Obviously I haven't played competitive matches in a long time. There were about three months where I didn't even pick up a tennis racquet. It was just bizarre.

"You sit back and you miss it. You want to be out there. From the hour you're in the locker room putting your dress on to the 15 minutes before the match when you're warming up, pumping yourself up and knowing you're going to go out there in front of 20,000 people. I certainly missed it."

Monday, May 25, 2009

Singles - First Round

(1) Dinara Safina (RUS) d. Anne Keothavong (GBR) 60 60

(3) Venus Williams (USA) d. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) 61 46 62

(12) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Rossana de los Ríos (PAR) 63 61

(13) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 36 61 63

Alexa Glatch (USA) d. (14) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 61 61

(15) Zheng Jie (CHN) d. Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro (FRA) 61 63

Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) d. (17) Patty Schnyder (SUI) 64 63

(20) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 64 26 64

(22) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Edina Gallovits (ROU) 61 64

(Q) Polona Hercog (SLO) d. (23) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) 62 46 61

(LL) Mariana Duque Marino (COL) d. (26) Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 36 64 64

(29) Agnes Szavay (HUN) d. (Q) Corinna Dentoni (ITA) 63 64

Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. Sabine Lisicki (GER) 62 16 61

Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) d. Camille Pin (FRA) 63 57 75

Aravane Rezai (FRA) d. Ai Sugiyama (JPN) 63 62

Lucie Hradecka (CZE) d. (Q) Yvonne Meusburger (AUT) 61 62

Tathiana Garbin (ITA) d. Ayumi Morita (JPN) 75 75

Jarmila Groth (AUS) d. (WC) Kinnie Laisne (FRA) 64 63

Olga Govortsova (BLR) d. (LL) Katie O'Brien (GBR) 61 61

Lourdes Domínguez Lino (ESP) d. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 61 46 97

Mariya Koryttseva (UKR) d. Patricia Mayr (AUT) 61 61

Jill Craybas (USA) d. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 75 62

Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) d. Stéphanie Foretz (FRA) 61 46 64

Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Anastasiya Yakimova (BLR) 36 61 62

Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) d. (WC) Irena Pavlovic (FRA) 63 64

(Q) Michelle Larcher de Brito (POR) d. Melanie South (GBR) 06 76(5) 75

(WC) Olivia Rogowska (AUS) d. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 64 64