French hope Razzano gets Serena scalp

Reuters/Paris

Serena Williams crashed to the worst Grand Slam defeat of her career yesterday when she slumped to a dramatic and thrilling 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 French Open loss to France’s world 111 Virginie Razzano. It was the 30-year-old American’s first ever exit at the opening round stage of her 47-event Grand Slam career and her earliest loss at a major since she was knocked out of the Australian Open second round by sister Venus in 1998. On a night of unbearable tension on Philippe Chatrier Court, Williams saved seven match points in the ninth game of the nerve-jangling decider. “I fought until the end. You (the crowd) gave me your energy. I’m gonna have to rest. Thank you all for your support,” said a breathless Razzano after a three-hour struggle. Williams had had the late evening match in her hands when she led by a set and 5/1 in the second set tiebreak as she looked set for a routine win. But Razzano, the darling of the Paris crowd after playing the 2011 French Open just days after the death of her fiance from a brain tumour, then reeled off the next six points of the breaker to level the tie. Amidst rising tension and emotion, Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam title winner, appeared to cry as she sat in her courtside chair ahead of the final set. She then fell to pieces on the court, slipping two breaks down to trail 4-0. Meanwhile, Rafa Nadal’s campaign for a record seventh French Open title began with a straight-sets victory over outclassed Italian Simone Bolelli yetserday, while Maria Sharapova opened with a whitewash of Romanian Alexandra Cadantu. Nadal, defending champion and second seed, thrashed Bolelli 6-2 6-2 6-1 in just short of two hours on the sunny Philippe Chatrier court. Playing in a shocking-pink shirt, Nadal completely dominated an error-prone Bolelli, who summed up his ordeal in three words: “Today, no chance.” Spaniard Nadal, aiming to win his 11th grand slam title, will next play Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin. Sharapova, chasing the one grand slam title to elude her, beat Cadantu 6-0 6-0 in 48 minutes, taking her through to a meeting with Japan’s Ayumi Morita. “I feel like with every year I have improved and I enjoy it much more,” the Russian former world number one told a news conference. “I feel like I’m moving a lot better than I did in years previously, which has helped me a lot in the recovery process within the point.” Former champion Francesca Schiavone and Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova also progressed in straight sets. Schiavone, the winner in 2010 and runner-up last year, enjoyed a 6-3 6-1 victory over Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm, the third-oldest woman to play at Roland Garros in the professional era at 41. The Italian said she had been nervous before stepping out on the court where she lost last year’s final to Li Na of China.

RESULTSMen 1st rd: David Ferrer (ESP x6) bt Lukas Lacko (SVK) 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 Benoît Paire (FRA) bt Albert Ramos (ESP) 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 Robin Haase (NED) bt Ivan Dodig (CRO) 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) bt Alexander Dolgopolov (UKR x16) 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-3 Tommy Haas (GER) bt Filippo Volandri (ITA) 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) bt Donald Young (USA) 7-6 (7/3), 6-1, 6-1 Richard Gasquet (FRA x17) bt Jurgen Zopp (EST) 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) bt Igor Andreev (RUS) 3-6, 6-2, 2-1 - retired Andy Murray (GBR x4) bt Tatsuma Ito (JPN) 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 Janko Tipsarevic (SRB x8) bt Sam Querrey (USA) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 Jérémy Chardy (FRA) bt Lu Yen-Hsun (TPE) 6-4, 6-1, 6-7 (3/7), 3-6, 11-9 Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) bt Go Soeda (JPN) 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 Julien Benneteau (FRA x29) bt Mischa Zverev (GER) 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-4 Nicolas Almagro (ESP x12) bt Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 Juan Monaco (ARG x13) bt Guillaume Rufin (FRA) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) Lukas Rosol (CZE) bt Carlos Berlocq (ARG) 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2 Florian Mayer (GER x32) bt Daniel Gimeno (ESP) 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 Eduardo Schwank (ARG) bt Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 Denis Istomin (UZB) bt Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) bt Simone Bolelli (ITA) 6-2, 6-2, 6-1Women 1st rd: Francesca Schiavone (ITA x14) bt Kimiko Date Krumm (JPN) 6-3, 6-1 Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) bt Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 Urszula Radwanska (POL) bt Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 6-4, 6-3 Petra Kvitova (CZE x4) bt Ashleigh Barty (AUS) 6-1, 6-2 Arantxa Rus (NED) bt Jamie Hampton (USA) 6-4, 4-3 - retired Heather Watson (GBR) bt Elena Vesnina (RUS) 6-2, 6-4 Julia Goerges (GER x25) bt Lucie Hradecká (CZE) 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 Kaia Kanepi (EST x23) bt Alexandra Panova (RUS) 6-3, 6-3 Irina Begu (ROM) bt Aravane Rezai (FRA) 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 Maria Kirilenko (RUS x16) bt Victoria Larrière (FRA) 6-1, 6-2 Klara Zakopalova (CZE) bt Lesya Tsurenko (UKR) 6-2, 6-1 Melinda Czink (HUN) bt Anne Keothavong (GBR) 6-1, 6-2 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS x22) bt Greta Arn (HUN) 6-4, 6-4 Lourdes Domínguez (ESP) bt Marina Erakovic (NZL) 7-5, 7-5 Ayumi Morita (JPN) bt Polona Hercog (SLO) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Maria Sharapova (RUS x2) bt Alexandra Cadantu (ROM) 6-0, 6-0