French Open: World number one Maria Sharapova was two points away from an embarrassing exit before finally prevailing 6-1 3-6 8-6 over fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina to advance to the second round of the French Open today.
The top seed, who is hoping to complete a career grand slam by
winning the Roland Garros crown, served 17 double faults on a
windswept Centre Court before downing the 19-year-old slam debutant
Rodina in two hours and 28 minutes.
Sharapova, who was in danger of becoming the first women's
top seed to bow out at the first hurdle in Paris since the start of
the professional game in 1968, refused to blame the weather
conditions.
"Apart from eating and breathing the sand, it was great. The
conditions were bad for me, they were bad for her, and they were
bad for everybody else playing on all the other courts," she told
reporters.
"I had problems in every department of my game today, so I'll
have to improve on every aspect of those things."
Australian Open champion Sharapova surrendered her opening
service game to an opponent ranked 103 in the world, but recovered
to clinch the first set in 29 minutes with a series of angled
winners.
Rodina, however, took full advantage of Sharapova's problems
with her serve to break early in the second set and again in the
ninth game to level the contest.
Sharapova fought tooth and nail to hold serve in the decider,
staving off three break points in the eighth game.
It was Rodina who eventually cracked though, sailing a
backhand long in the 13th game to give Sharapova the only break of
the set.
A shrieking Sharapova stood firm with her serve and sealed
the contest on her first match point when Rodina hit a backhand
wide.
The match, which was scheduled for yesterday, had been
postponed to today because of persistent rain in the French
capital.
Latest French Open Results
Men's Singles First Round
(prefix number denotes seeding)
Marin Cilic (Croatia) beat Robin Haase (Netherlands) 7-6(6) 6-2
7-6(4)
Marat Safin (Russia) beat Jean-Rene Lisnard (Monaco) 6-7(5)
6-1 6-3
6-2
Martin Vassallo Arguello (Argentina) beat Feliciano Lopez
(Spain) 7-6(1) 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3
30-Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) beat Daniel Brands (Germany) 6-2
6-4
7-5
Bobby Reynolds (U.S.) beat Thierry Ascione (France) 7-6(2)
4-6 6-3 6-2
Mardy Fish (U.S.) beat Agustin Calleri (Argentina) 6-7(6) 6-4
6-2
6-4
Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) beat John Isner (U.S.) 2-6 3-6
7-5 6-3
6-4
26-Jarkko Nieminen (Finland) beat Marc Lopez (Spain) 2-6 6-3
6-4 6-3
David Marrero (Spain) beat Victor Crivoi (Romania) 6-3 6-3
5-7
6-4
Fabrice Santoro (France) beat Evgeny Korolev (Russia) 7-6(3)
6-1 6-4
5-David Ferrer (Spain) beat Steve Darcis (Belgium) 6-3 6-4
6-3
25-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) beat Nicolas Mahut (France) 6-4
6-2 6-4
Jiri Vanek (Czech Republic) beat Jesse Huta Galung
(Netherlands) 6-3 7-5 6-2
21-Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) beat Gilles Simon (France)
6-2 6-4 6-1
Juergen Melzer (Austria) beat Peter Luczak (Australia) 6-3
6-2 6-4
Marcos Daniel (Brazil) beat 23-Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain)
6-7(5) 2-2 retired
Women's Singles First Round
(prefix number denotes seeding)
27-Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) beat Virginia Ruano Pascual
(Spain) 6-4 6-2
Casey Dellacqua (Australia) beat 9-Marion Bartoli (France)
6-7(4) 6-3 6-2
Marina Erakovic (New Zealand) beat Tathiana Garbin (Italy)
6-7(9) 6-3 6-3
26-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) beat Tatiana Perebiynis (Ukraine)
6-3 6-2
Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Karolina Sprem (Croatia)
7-6(3) 3-6 8-6
7-Elena Dementieva (Russia) beat Vera Dushevina (Russia)
6-7(6) 6-0 6-2
1-Maria Sharapova (Russia) beat Evgeniya Rodina (Russia) 6-1
3-6 8-6
Vania King (U.S.) beat Violette Huck (France) 4-6 6-2
6-1
Olga Govortsova (Belarus) beat Yuliana Fedak (Ukraine) 7-5
2-6 6-3
Akgul Amanmuradova (Uzbekistan) beat Yanina Wickmayer
(Belgium) 6-2 7-5
Marta Domachowska (Poland) beat Rossana De Los Rios
(Paraguay) 3-6 6-3 6-1
Bethanie Mattek (U.S.) beat Madison Brengle (U.S.) 6-3 2-6
6-4
Sanda Mamic (Croatia) beat Michaella Krajicek (Netherlands)
6-4 6-3
18-Francesca Schiavone (Italy) beat Jill Craybas (U.S.) 6-3
6-2