Sharapova Wins Despite Injury
Fourth seed Maria Sharapova put her injury worries behind her with a comfortable win over Iveta Benesova at the French Open on Wednesday.
Sharapova struggled desperately with an ankle injury in her opening match on Sunday and had been pessimistic about her chances at Roland Garros.
But after edging a tight opening set the Russian powered to a 6-4 6-1 win.
Sharapova will next play Australia’s Alicia Molik or Romanian Anda Perianu.
“It was a lot better than my previous match,” said Sharapova.
“I didn’t feel like I was moving great still, being cautious with the tape on, but pain-wise it felt a lot better.”
World number one Mauresmo secured her place in round three despite a nervous display on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
The Frenchwoman is, as ever, carrying the hopes of her compatriots in Paris and she started well enough against Russia’s Dushevina.
But after racing through the opening set, Mauresmo twice had to break serve to stay in the second and needed three match points before claiming the win.
“I managed to stay focused when I needed it most. I was able to control the key moments,” she said.
“Sometimes you have a bad day and you have to win so you can have a good day in the next round.”
“That’s what I was able to do because my average level of play has increased in the past months.”
Eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Mara Santangelo 7-5 6-2, while 11th seed Venus Williams beat Finn Emma Laine (Fin) 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.
Dinara Safina earlier made up for big brother Marat Safin’s angry exit the day before.
Safina, the 14th seed, thrashed Hana Sromova of the Czech Republic 6-0 6-2.
“I can say it was an easy match today,” said Safina. “I was pretty solid.”
She will next take on Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik, the 24th seed, who eased past America’s Ashley Harkleroad 6-3 6-2.
France’s Aravane Rezai gave the Paris crowd something to cheer by beating 22nd seed Ai Sugiyama 4-6 6-4 6-3.
“This is a fabulous moment for me,” said Rezai, who is ranked 142nd. “I was playing a match on Court Suzanne Lenglen with a lot of pressure.”
