Sharapova starts with win at Roland Garros

Published 25 May, 2009, 20:02

Tennis star Maria Sharapova, making her return to sport after a 9-month absence due to a shoulder injury, has won her starting match on Day 2 of the French Open.

But it was not easy as she needed all three sets to take the better of Anastasiya Yakimova 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

The Belarusian player broke Sharapova to make the score 5-3 in the first, and just needed to take her serve to win the set, which she did.

But this only angered the Russian star as Maria won four games in a row in the second set, and eventually took it 6-1.

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And Sharapova was unstoppable in the third letting her opponent take just two games

Safina doesn’t give away a game to her opponent

The World No. 1 Dinara Safina also had her first match at the tournament on Monday. The Russian saw no resistance from Anne Keothavong, storming her UK rival 6-0, 6-0 in just an hour.

“I came on the court expecting a good match and a tough one because she had been playing good in Warsaw. She made semis. But then I started to play, and I started to feel good. I felt very good on the court, and I think I played a solid game," Dinara Safina said at a post-match media-conference, AP news agency reports.

Safina’s next rival will be her compatriot Vitalia Diatchenko, who beat Mathilde Johansson from France 2-6, 6-2, 10-8 on Day 1.

Nadal and Federer easy winners

In the men’s games, the leader of the world rankings Rafael Nadal also had an easy start. The clay specialist from Spain left no chances to Brazilian Marcos Daniel, winning in straight sets 7-5, 6-4, 6-3.

His arch rival Roger Federer was also victorious on Day 2. The World No. 2 overcoming Spaniard Alberto Martin, 4-6, 2-6, 3-6.

10th seed Nikolay Davydenko needed just three sets to defeat Stefan Koubrek from Austria, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.

Another Russian, Mikhail Youzhny, also progressed to the second round, getting the better of Gilles Muller. The Luxemburg player looked good in the first set and led it to a tiebreak, which Youzhny won 7-2.

The Russian dominated the rest of the game, winning in three sets 7-6, 6-1, 6-4.


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