Monday, May 25, 2015

French Open: Sharapova opens with a win

Tennis Updates:


Maria Sharapova made a successful start to the defence of her French Open title with a 6-2 6-4 win over Kaia Kanepi from Estonia in the first round.


The 2nd-seeded Russian, 28, will now face compatriot Vitalia Diatchenko.


Former world number 2 and 2012 Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, seeded 14th, lost 6-2 3-6 6-1 to Annika Beck from Germany.


In the men’s draw, 4th seed Tomas Berdych reached round 2 by beating Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0 7-5 6-3.

The Czech, 29, is next scheduled to meet compatriot Radek Stepanek.


The biggest name to falter on day 2 so far is Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, with the 11th seed suffering a 6-3 7-6 (11-9) 6-3 defeat by Teymuraz Gabashvili.


Elsewhere in the women’s draw, Sabine Lisicki beat Monica Puig 6-3 6-2 while Roberta Vinci lost 4-6 6-4 6-1 to Alize Cornet.


Double Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka , who is seeded 27, marked her return to Roland Garros after missing last year’s event with a foot injury with a 6-2 6-1 win over Spain’s Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor.


French player Virginie Razzano stunned the crowd on the Suzanne Lenglen court by attempting to serve out for victory with an underarm serve.


The wildcard entry, 32, missed with the underarm 2nd serve to concede a double fault against Paraguayan qualifier Veronica Cepede Royg.


Razzano, who knocked out Serena Williams in 2012, recovered her poise to complete a 2-6 6-4 6-2 victory.


She said: “I wasn’t feeling that great today. I’m sorry, I spooned the ball over. That’s the baggage that I carry.”


The shot revived memories of Michael Chang’s underarm service in a 4th-round victory over Ivan Lendl in 1989 before Chang went on to take the title and become the youngest ever winner of the Roland Garros title at just 17.


Japanese teenager Nishioka was unable to make an impact on the court with his tennis but the 19-year-old made an impression with his dapper shorts, sporting the sort of patterns usually seen on a golf course. Hoping for a first victory on the Parisian clay, the qualifier was overwhelmed by his big-hitting opponent.


Berdych secured the first set in 27 minutes and Nishioka’s resistance only slightly improved thereafter, giving the fourth seed his 10th victory on clay this year. What is more, the 2010 semi-finalist won 82% of his first service points and will now prepare to face Stepanek, who beat Ivan Dodig 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-1.


by ScoresPro.com



French Open: Sharapova opens with a win

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