By Clare Fallon
PARIS, May 30 (Reuters) – After four days of play, the
French Open was left without a Williams sister in the draw on
Wednesday when former runner-up Venus joined 2002 champion
Serena in making an early exit.
Venus, seven times a grand-slam winner but now coping with
an autoimmune disease, went out tamely 6-2 6-3 to third seed
Agnieszka Radwanska.
Serena, whose shock first-round defeat by Frenchwoman
Virginie Razzano reverberated through the Roland Garros courts
on Tuesday, was in the stands to see her big sister thrashed by
an in-form Radwanska.
Tennis fans rued the loss of both Americans, two of the
biggest characters in women’s tennis, but thankfully the men’s
favourites are playing to form and both world number one Novak
Djokovic and record-breaking 2009 champion Roger Federer
survived into the third round.
At least one of the Williams sisters has featured at every
French Open since 1997, except for last year when they were both
injured, and they contested the final in 2002, with Serena
winning.
As though in sympathy with their troubles this year, rain
came to Paris after three days of glorious sunshine, and play
ended early with fifth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga level
at 6-2 4-6 1-1 with German Cedric Marcel Stebe on Suzanne
Lenglen court.
Venus showed flashes of her old self only at the end of the
hour-long match with Radwanska when she won to love for 5-2 and
then broke her opponent.
However, Radwanska, covering the whole court and playing
some sublime shots, scooped the ball over the American’s head to
get to matchpoint in the following game and then watched Venus
put a forehand out.
Venus was quiet but determined not to be downcast in her
news conference, saying she was still learning to live with
Sjogren’s Syndrome.
“There are a lot of people who have it a lot worse than I
do. I am still playing a professional sport,” the former world
number one said.
“I haven’t gotten to the ‘why me?’ yet, I hope I never get
to the ‘why me?’ I am not allowed to feel sorry for myself.”
BARTOLI LOSES
The women’s draw also lost eighth-seeded local favourite
Marion Bartoli, a semi-finalist here last year, who was beaten
6-2 3-6 6-3 by world number 50 Petra Martic of Croatia.
World number one Victoria Azarenka, however, redeemed
herself after nearly losing in the first round when she easily
beat German qualifier Dinah Pfizenmaier 6-1 6-1.
Federer and Djokovic both made hard work of the second round
for themselves.
The Swiss collected a record-breaking 234th grand-slam match
win but only after squandering two matchpoints in a third-set
tiebreak and having to stay out for a fourth set against
Romanian Adrian Ungur.
Federer eventually won 6-3 6-2 6-7 6-3 to pass the winning
record of American Jimmy Connors, which he had equalled in the
first round, and chided himself for being too passive in the
tiebreak.
“Instead of being aggressive, I let him show me what he
could do,” said the third seed, who will now play Frenchman
Nicolas Mahut.
World number one Djokovic, needing only the title here to
become the first man in 43 years to hold all four grand-slam
crowns at the same time, won the first seven games against
entertaining Slovenian Blaz Kavcic but then, in his own word,
“stopped”.
“I gave him the opportunity to come back into the match
after a perfect first seven games,” said the Serbian who won 6-0
6-4 6-4 in the end, despite the crowd getting firmly behind
underdog Kavcic.
Argentine clay specialist Juan Martin del Potro, the ninth
seed, set up a third-round match with Croatian Marin Cilic – a
difficult opponent in his opinion – by beating France’s Edouard
Roger-Vasselin 6-7 7-6 6-4 6-4, while 11th seed Gilles Simon
also won through.
U.S. Open women’s champion Samantha Stosur, the runner-up
here in 2010, defeated American Irina Falconi 6-1 6-4 and will
now play 27th-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova.
Ana Ivanovic, on the comeback trail after her career took a
dive following her 2008 win at Roland Garros, enjoyed a 6-2 6-2
win over Israel’s Shahar Peer.
The next opponent for the 13th-seeded Serbian, who said she
hungered for more success, will be Italian Sara Errani, seeded
21.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
