Champion Ana Ivanovic was made to sweat for more than two hours by a little-known Italian before getting through the first round of the French Open on Sunday. Ivanovic, who dominated at Roland Garros 12 months ago, struggled to a 7-6 6-3 victory over Sara Errani, who has never won a match at the French Open.
The 21-year-old Serbian stepped on court with her troublesome right knee strapped up in black tape and was pushed from corner to corner by Errani in a 22-shot rally within the opening seconds of the match. "I kept my composure even when I was making a few mistakes. I knew I just had to work my way slowly into the match," Ivanovic, who converted only five of her 20 break point chances, told reporters.
"I was just happy to use the chances I had and finally win." Despite the below-par performance on Sunday, Ivanovic was happy to be back at the claycourt grand slam.
"This morning when I was warming up they were playing highlights (of last year's final) on the big screen. It's always good to see and you get a little bit excited watching that." Two former world number ones who are in the twilight of their careers also got excited after sliding into round two.
Lleyton Hewitt, now ranked 50th, sent lofty Croatian Ivo Karlovic crashing to earth in a 6-7 6-7 7-6 6-4 6-3 win while Marat Safin began his final French Open campaign before retiring at the end of the year with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over Russian-born Frenchman Alexandre Sidorenko. Standing at 2.08 metres, 26th seed Karlovic has enjoyed putting Hewitt in the shade in each of their three previous meetings, most notably in the first round at Wimbledon in 2003 when the Australian was the defending champion.
On Sunday, Hewitt survived a barrage of 55 aces to finally cut Karlovic down to size when the Croatian misfired a smash well beyond the baseline. France's Mathilde Johansson blew eight match points in a 2-6 6-2 10-8 defeat by Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia. "At the moment, I just feel like running away. But we all make mistakes and this is an experience I'll be able to use for my future grand slam tournaments," said the 24-year-old Johansson.
-- Spanish eighth seed Fernando Verdasco compounded a miserable day for the French when he humbled Florent Serra 6-2 6-1 6-4.
-- Chinese 25th seed Li Na became the first player to reach the second round after overwhelming Poland's Marta Domachowska 6-4 6-2.
Men's singles first round results:
-- Philipp Petzschner (Germany) beat Peter Polansky (Canada) 5-7 6-2 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3
-- Josselin Ouanna (France) beat Marcel Granollers (Spain) 7-5 2-6 3-6 7-6(2) 6-1
-- 8-Fernando Verdasco (Spain) beat Florent Serra (France) 6-2 6-1 6-4
-- 31-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat Agustin Calleri (Argentina) 6-4 6-1 6-3
-- 13-Marin Cilic (Croatia) beat Jan Hernych (Czech Republic) 6-0 6-4 6-3
-- 20-Marat Safin (Russia) beat Alexandre Sidorenko (France) 6-4 6-4 6-4
-- Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) beat 26-Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) 6-7(1) 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 6-4 6-3
-- Dudi Sela (Israel) beat Jean-Rene Lisnard (Monaco) 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-3
-- Mathieu Montcourt (France) beat Lu Yen-Hsun (Taiwan) 6-2 (Lu Y H retired)
-- Andrey Golubev (Kazakhstan) beat Denis Gremelmayr (Germany) 6-3 6-3 6-2
Women's singles first round results:
-- 11-Nadia Petrova (Russia) beat Lauren Embree (U.S.) 6-1 6-2
-- Elena Vesnina (Russia) beat Severine Bremond (France) 6-3 6-3
-- 32-Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) beat Julia Goerges (Germany) 7-5 4-1 (Goerges retired)
-- Julie Coin (France) beat Nuria Llagostera Vives (Spain) 7-5 6-2
-- Vitalia Diatchenko (Russia) beat Mathilde Johansson (France) 2-6 6-2 10-8
-- 8-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) beat Sara Errani (Italy) 7-6(3) 6-3
-- Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) beat Emilie Loit (France) 4-6 6-4 6-1
-- 27-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) beat Raluca Olaru (Romania) 6-3 6-2
-- 25-Li Na (China) beat Marta Domachowska (Poland) 6-4 6-2.
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