French Open First Round Recap: Day 2 and Day 3 at Roland Garros by Nadya Vlassoff
After three days of court-play at the French Open, the crowds are already buzzing from the advancing seeds and surprises. One of the biggest reasons that a Grand Slam tournament is more difficult than other premiere competitions is simply due to the fact that all players, including those seeded, must compete in every round. The first round is always full of surprises and shocking upsets since no player has an added advantage.
Day 2 of the French Open saw the majority of top seeds make it through to the second round, but not without a few clay court scares. Andy Roddick finally made it past the first round after four consecutive years of losing or missing the first round. Although his opponent was the 305th ranked Frenchman Romain Jouan, Roddick still needed the win, if only for his own mental soundness. The French Open has always been his Achilles Heel of the tour as Roddick has never advanced past the 3rd round, and that was back in 2001. Although Roddick knows that he is capable of making it into the second week at Roland Garros, history was against him since his serve is much slower on clay.
Rafael
Nadal swept aside his first round competition
with more trouble than expected, as Rafa fell
behind in the second set before regrouping to
make quick work of his overmatched opponent
in straight sets. With a record 29 consecutive
wins at the French Open, Nadal is clearing to
road to his 5th consecutive title at his best
tournament. Can anyone knock Nadal off the court
when the Spaniard is at his best? Only French
Open time will tell.
Day 2 saw the women’s top seed, Dinara Safina, blast the competition off clay as she double bagged the Briton Anne Keothavong in straight sets. It was utter domination for the fiery Russian who lost the first two points of the match but unleashed every ounce of strength and skill to end the day early. If anyone doubts Safina’s ability to win, her match against Keothavong was enough to silence even the toughest critic.
Other
notables on Day 2 included the recently rejuvenated
Maria Sharapova who battled back from injury
to begin another French Open campaign. Only
a week into her recovery and return to competitive
play, Sharapova won her first round match despite
a taped right shoulder that revealed a bit of
on-court fragility. After losing the first set,
Sharapova settled into her game while giving
up three games in the last two sets. Sharapova’s
serve still needs work but it looked better
than Ana Ivanovic’s on Day 1.
Although fan favourites made it through on the second day, there were still plenty of upsets as the 19th seeded Tomas Berdych, 14th seed Flavia Pennata, 17th seed Patty Schnyder, 23rd seed Alisa Kleybanova and the 26th seed Anna Chakvetadze were all bounced in the first round. For Kleybanova Day 2 marked a disappointing Grand Slam return after making a surprising 4th round appearance at the Australian Open.
French Open Day 3: Blake falls, Serena Squeaks By
After rain delays that postponed play on Day 1 and pushed back the schedule for the rest of the first round, players resumed their matches on Day 3, as some of the tournament’s most notable names were on center court for their chance at the title race.
Serena Williams took on the unheralded Czechm Klara Zakopalova, who should have been a breeze for the 10 time slam champion. But like any Slam tournament over the years, nothing is ever that simple. It took eight match points before Serena was able to put away her opponent in three sets. After losing the second set on a break point, Williams managed to regroup, but not before Zakopalova was able to take four games in the third set. Finally, as Zakopalova hit a long return, Serena jumped for joy after taking longer than expected to win her first match.
Other top ten seeds that made it through to the second round were Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, all seeded players who have never won the title at Roland Garros but are formidable contenders. On the men’s side, the 4th seeded Novak Djokovic dispatched his opponent with ease despite the wet weather hampering play for all competitors since it made the balls heavier and harder to hit. The 5th seeded Juan Martin del Potro also advanced in straight sets, giving up seven games in three sets, and now looking to extend his prowess on clay and make it into the second week for the first time in his career.
While the majority of the top seeds went through to the second round without too much trouble, the 15th seeded American, James Blake, bowed out early in a disappointing appearance in the first round. Other Americans who were bounced in the first round included the 22nd seeded Mardy Fish and Bobby Reynolds, although he was taking on the 11th seeded Gael Monfils. It was a good comeback for Monfils who only a month ago looked like he was about to pull out of the French Open due to injury. Monfils was soon joined in victorious play by compatriot and 9th French Open seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who continues his march toward a French Open title.
Rafael
Nadal swept aside his first round competition
with more trouble than expected, as Rafa fell
behind in the second set before regrouping to
make quick work of his overmatched opponent
in straight sets. With a record 29 consecutive
wins at the French Open, Nadal is clearing to
road to his 5th consecutive title at his best
tournament. Can anyone knock Nadal off the court
when the Spaniard is at his best? Only French
Open time will tell.
Other
notables on Day 2 included the recently rejuvenated
Maria Sharapova who battled back from injury
to begin another French Open campaign. Only
a week into her recovery and return to competitive
play, Sharapova won her first round match despite
a taped right shoulder that revealed a bit of
on-court fragility. After losing the first set,
Sharapova settled into her game while giving
up three games in the last two sets. Sharapova’s
serve still needs work but it looked better
than Ana Ivanovic’s on Day 1.