Tennis

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Argentina defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 Saturday to win the World Team Cup for the third time.

Agustin Calleri and Jose Acasuso beat Tomas Berdych and Martin Damm in the deciding doubles 2-6, 6-4, 10-4.

Berdych put the Czech Republic ahead with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over Juan Ignacio Chela, and Calleri tied it with a 6-3, 6-1 rout of Jan Hajek.

The Czech pair took the first set and broke to lead 4-2 in the second, but lost the next four games to take the match to a championship tiebreaker.

Argentina played its fifth final after lifting the trophy in 1980 and 2002. The Czech Republic lost in three previous finals in 1996, 1998 and 2003.

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Juan Monaco defeated Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (3), 6-0 Saturday to win his second career title at the Hypo Group International.

The 75th-ranked Monfils, who defeated Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt, had six double faults in his first five service games.

"I had troubles adjusting to the strong wind. It disturbed my timing and that's why I hit so many errors," Monfils said.

The 48th-ranked Argentine dropped only six points in the second set. Monaco lost only one set -- in the quarterfinals against defending champion Nikolay Davydenko -- in five matches during the tournament.

"This is the reward for the hard work I have put in the last couple of weeks," Monaco said.

Monaco won the tiebreaker with a spectacular volley at the net.

"That was the moment where I knew I just could not lose this match," the Argentine player said. "I went full-blooded for every single point in the tiebreaker."

After dropping 0-2 behind in the second set, Monfils gave away his racket to a girl in the crowd.

"I was just too tired. It had become a physical battle and I was playing more against my tiredness than against Juan," Monfils said, who last week reached the semifinals in Zagrab, Croatia. "I didn't expect to play so many matches before Roland Garros."

Monaco looks forward to the French Open, which starts Sunday.

"This is the best preparation for Paris I could possibly hope for," said Monaco, who won his first title in February at Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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Justine Henin was thrown off her game by starting her French Open title defense on a Sunday.

"It's strange. I'm not sure it's a good idea," Henin said after beating Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-4, 6-3. "It breaks our habits. Everyone's a bit lost."

Henin also had to wait more than five hours to play because of a rain delay.

"It was so crowded at the players' cafeteria, men and women everywhere, overcrowded," Henin said. "That's what I hate about the start of a Grand Slam. You're not really at ease. You can't really be in a peaceful place."

Henin also was unhappy with the string tension of her racket and hit some loose forehands. She lost two straight service games at the end of the first set and beginning of the second.

"Winning today is all that counts," the two-time defending champion said.

She was pleased with the center-court crowd, even though the stands were about half empty.

"I got a great reception," Henin said. "And that warms the heart. That's a positive thing for me today."

The French Open opened on a Sunday for the first time last year, with 28,084 spectators. There were 30,185 this time.

Henin next plays Wednesday against 16-year-old Tamira Paszek of Austria.

MARAT'S CRYSTAL BALL: Marat Safin predicts another Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal final at the French Open.

"Nobody can come close to beating them on clay, especially here," said Safin, a semifinalist at Roland Garros in 2002. "A tough call who's going to win this year, Roger or Nadal."

Nadal has beaten Federer five times out of six on clay, including in last year's final. But Federer beat the Spaniard 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the Hamburg Masters final this month, ending his clay-court record winning streak at 81 matches.

"It looks like he finally found how to play against Rafa," Safin said. "Rafa will have been playing for many tournaments already, and I think he's tired."

Safin may think he knows who will be in the June 10 final, but he's still not certain of the winner.

"Depends how they are going to start, how the match is going to develop and who's going to get scared first," he said.

Safin and younger sister Dinara Safina both won first-round matches Sunday.

First up on center court was Safin, the 2000 U.S. Open and 2005 Australian Open champion. He avoided most of the rain and beat Fernando Vicente of Spain 6-1, 6-3, 6-1. Safina then beat Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4, with a long rain delay disrupting the second set.

The last time they played on the same day was at last year's U.S. Open.

"We both lost actually," Safina said. "He lost to (Tommy) Haas, and I lost to Amelie (Mauresmo)."

THE WAITING GAME: The rain was strictly an annoyance to Tamira Paszek. She was close to beating Aiko Nakamura of Japan.

Dinara Safina was glad for the break. She was trailing Yuliana Fedak 4-2 in the second set.

"I was struggling," Safina said. "I could think about what I was doing wrong."

When the rain ended, Safina won the next four games and downed Fedak 7-5, 6-4.

Although Paszek easily beat Nakamura 6-4, 6-0, the Austrian was irritated by the circumstances surrounding the suspension of her match just after midday -- she needed to win one more game.

"The supervisor, Nakamura, and me ... we all decided we wanted to stay on court," Paszek said. "Suddenly, all the guys who prepare the court came on and just covered the court. We had to go off."

When Paszek got back to her locker room, she got another surprise when she looked at the TV.

"I saw (Marat) Safin was still playing," she said. "We stopped the match 20 minutes before the end of the other matches, which wasn't easy for me. I had to wait five hours in the locker room."

"I did some gym work," the 16-year-old player said. "It was an experience. You learn from it."

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Andy Roddick sets his sights lower at the French Open.

He's accustomed to going to other Grand Slam tournaments with plans to stay until the late stages. On the clay of Roland Garros, where play begins Sunday, the No. 3-seeded Roddick would be thrilled just to still be around for the fourth round.

"Different goals. Going into Wimbledon or the (U.S.) Open, it's like, 'OK, I'm looking to make a run to a final here,"' Roddick said.

"And here, I want to make the second week. Then, if you get there, you kind of re-evaluate," he continued. "But that's something I haven't done, and I feel like that's a realistic goal that I'm going after right now."

Roddick has reached two finals at the U.S. Open, winning the 2003 title. He's made two finals at Wimbledon, too, and been a semifinalist twice at the Australian Open.

And at the French Open?

He's only once been as far as the third round, back in 2001. Since then, Roddick has two second-round losses and three first-round exits.

Red clay clearly presents problems, even if he's had some good results on it elsewhere, including in the Davis Cup and a title at St. Poelten, Austria, in 2003.

Balls bounce higher and move more slowly on clay, giving opponents more time to react to Roddick's best tools -- his powerful serves and forehands.

"It's challenging," Roddick said, his backward-turned white baseball cap soaked with sweat and flecked with rust-colored spots after a practice session. "I want to get to the second week. I feel like, even though it is a challenging surface, it is something that I should have done."

Roddick's hardly the only American who has more trouble in Paris than at other majors. No U.S. man won the French Open between Tony Trabert in 1955 and Michael Chang in 1989, and Andre Agassi was the last to do it, in 1999.

Over the past three years, only one American man made it as far as the third round: James Blake last year.

"We don't play on (clay). That's just the bottom line," U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said. "We don't play on it when we're kids. We don't grow up on it."

Roddick gets a chance for a little extra preparation before his opening match against 127th-ranked Igor Andreev of Russia, because they're not on Sunday's schedule. Two-time major champion Marat Safin, 2003 French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero and Australian Open runner-up Fernando Gonzalez are the top men slated to play, while No. 1 Justine Henin and Serena and Venus Williams highlight the Day 1 schedule.

No. 8-seeded Blake's first-round foe is 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, the tallest player on tour and one of the toughest servers. Karlovic led the 2006 French Open with 57 aces -- even though he only played two matches. Roger Federer, by comparison, compiled 35 aces in seven matches.

After Roddick and Blake, the next American in the rankings is No. 31 Mardy Fish, but he pulled out of the French Open after hurting his foot trying to kick a field goal, of all things, during a visit to an NFL Europa team.

"I asked if he made the field goal. I was trying to find at least a silver lining," said Roddick, who is pals with Fish. "He said it was short."

While Roddick wants to strike the right balance between coming to the net and hanging back on clay, Andreev knows his way around the surface and has come up big at times. When Rafael Nadal's record 81-match winning streak on clay ended with a loss to Federer last weekend, it was the Spaniard's first defeat on the surface since Andreev beat him in April 2005.

And at the 2004 French Open, Andreev upset defending champion Ferrero in the second round.

If Roddick can get past Andreev, things won't necessarily get easier. In the second round, he would face Luis Horna of Peru or Nicolas Massu of Chile, both comfortable on clay.

How hard is it for Roddick to figure out how aggressive to be?

"It's a very fine line," he said. "I'm not going to go out there and hit loopers all day and have any success whatsoever, because then it becomes a movement game -- and on this stuff you know who's going to win that one."

That's not to say Roddick isn't in good shape. He is, after all, profiled in the current issue of Men's Fitness. The magazine's cover photo shows Roddick wearing a T-shirt, his biceps bulging more than usual -- something he addressed on his Web site.

Asked about it Saturday, Roddick referred reporters to what he wrote on his blog: "Pretty sure I'm not as fit as the Men's Fitness cover suggests. ... Little did I know I have 22-inch guns. ... I walked by the newsstand in the airport and did a total double take. ... Maybe Rafael Nadal wants his arms back."

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Serena Williams' "Come on!" count was rising rapidly.

Her first French Open match since 2004 hardly went according to plan at the outset Sunday, and Williams kept grimacing and admonishing herself as each shaky shot helped her 91st-ranked opponent race ahead by a set and a service break.

Then, suddenly, the eight-time major champion's strokes began heeding her shouts. Williams ran off 12 of the last 13 games to beat Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in a match interrupted 6 hours, 16 minutes by rain.

"I often get upset. I usually just hide it, but I guess I didn't do too well hiding it today," Williams said after improving to 30-0 in the first round of Grand Slam tournaments. "I'm always fighting, you know? I'm thinking, 'I've got to fight.' If I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down screaming and kicking."

Hers was one of only seven matches played on a wet Day 1 at Roland Garros, and the short list of women's winners included No. 1 Justine Henin -- Williams' possible quarterfinal foe -- No. 10 Dinara Safina and unseeded Tamira Paszek of Austria.

Safina's older brother, No. 22 Marat Safin, was the only seeded man who played, and the two-time major winner easily got past Fernando Vicente of Spain 6-1, 6-3, 6-1. It was the only match completed before the lengthy rain delay.

"I was lucky to finish," Safin said.

Steady drizzles throughout the afternoon prompted organizers to postpone 17 scheduled matches.

"It just kept raining," the eighth-seeded Williams said. "It didn't bother me. I think I fell asleep at some point."

Perhaps that explains why she seemed as out of sorts right after the rain delay as she did when play began under a ceiling of charcoal clouds at Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Williams won the 2002 French Open, but she missed the last two editions because of injuries, and Pironkova didn't exactly provide a proper welcome: The 19-year-old broke the American's serve in the first game.

When Williams fell behind 5-2 by dumping a forehand into the net for one of her 26 unforced errors in the first set -- eight more than in the last two sets combined -- she dropped to a knee, lowered her chin and slowly walked to the changeover chair.

No way anyone counts out Williams anymore, not after so many comebacks, most recently when she entered the Australian Open ranked 81st and emerged with a championship. Still, the way she was playing and gasping for air after some of the lengthier exchanges didn't look good.

Even after Williams tied the first set at 5-5, she was immediately broken back, and she kept talking to herself as raindrops fell. One ill-advised sliced forehand into the net was followed by a "Come on, Serena!" A backhand into the net drew an audible sigh.


AP - May 27, 2:47 pm EDT
More Photos


With Pironkova leading 6-5 and about to try to serve for the set a third time, Williams indicated to the chair umpire she didn't think they should keep playing. Williams went over to the sideline and put on her pink-and-purple jacket, while Pironkova stood at the baseline, waiting to see what would happen. Eventually, play was halted -- even though Safin's match and others around the grounds would continue for more than 20 minutes before all action stopped.

"It would be better for me if it didn't rain today, because I was in a rhythm already," Pironkova said, "and when it started to rain, I lost it."

During the break, Williams' father, Richard, figured his daughter would be OK, because, he said, "Chances are, Serena can't keep playing that bad, and (Pironkova) can't keep playing that good."

Turned out he was right -- eventually. When the players went back on court, both now wearing long sleeves, Williams made four consecutive unforced errors to drop the first set. Four more miscues by the American handed a 1-0 lead in the second set to Pironkova, whose career highlight was knocking off Williams' older sister Venus in the first round of the 2006 Australian Open.

Did Pironkova think she had a chance to repeat that feat?

"Yeah, definitely, after the first set," she said. "But then things started to move a little bit faster."

So did Williams, who broke back to 1-1, then really began to find the range at deuce in the next game. She skidded across the clay and bent way down for a volley winner, then hit a cross-court backhand that touched a line.

That was part of a run of nine consecutive games for Williams, a span in which she claimed 39 of 56 points to take complete control. By the end, Pironkova was the one with the negative body language, repeatedly flinging her racket after lost points.

So Pironkova still never has been beyond the second round at a major, and Williams still never has lost in the first round at a major.

"I have to knock on wood," Williams said. "It's going to happen, maybe, one day, but I'm really proud of that record."

[donsaeid]

قبل از آغاز اوپن پاريس

فدرر جايزه خود را به كودكان سرطاني داد


قهرمان كم رقيب تنيس حرفه*اي جهان، قبل از مسابقه در آزاد فرانسه جايزه احتمالي خود را به كودكان سرطاني پاريس تقديم كرد.



به نقل از يورو اسپورت، راجر فدرر، در جايزه بزرگ پاريس هم بدون مربي حاضر شده است. وي جايزه 3 ميليون دلاري خود را كه البته هنوز به آن نرسيده، پيشاپيش به كودكان سرطاني بيمارستان مركزي پاريس هديه كرد.

وي گفت: با تمام وجود تلاش مي*كنم تا قهرمان اوپن پاريس شوم و اين پول را به اين كودكان تقديم كنم

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Somdev Devvarman of Virginia and Audra Cohen of Miami, two former national runners-up, won NCAA singles tennis championships Monday.

Devvarman, who finished second in 2006, won two tiebreakers to beat top-seeded John Isner of Georgia for the men's title.

Cohen, who lost the 2005 final as a freshman for Northwestern, beat Southern California's Lindsey Nelson, 7-5, 6-2. Nelson lost the championship match for the second consecutive year.

Devvarman, the second seed, won 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (2) to become Virginia's first NCAA singles champion.

Isner served 22 aces and won 17 more points off service-return errors. Devvarman served effectively, too. He had just five aces, including match point. He won without ever breaking Isner's serve.

"I definitely served well in the breakers," said Devvarman, a junior from Chennai, India. "I took advantage of the first serves he missed in the tiebreaker."

It was Devvarman's second win over Isner in a week. He beat the Georgia ace 6-4, 6-4 in the team tournament a week ago.

"I had never beaten him before," said Devvarman. "That match helped me find a way to beat him."

Devvarman won the first tiebreaker on a service-return winner off Isner's second serve.

"I knew this match would be a coin flip," the 6-foot-9 Isner said. "I thought I played exceptionally well. We both played high-quality tennis."

Isner broke Devvarman in the seventh game of the second set, and missed a break point for the set in the ninth game. Isner hit three aces to win the set 6-4, but television replays indicated two of the serves were wide, one by nearly six inches.

"I got upset, but I did what I do best, and that is not be animated, not be overwhelmed," Devvarman said.

Isner started the third set tiebreaker with a minibreak, but Devvarman won two straight points off Isner's second serve en route to a 7-2 edge in the decisive set.

In the first set of the women's finals, Nelson had a set point on Cohen in the 10th game, but a close call went against Nelson. Cohen won the next seven games.

"It hurt to lose that point," Nelson said. "I froze up and stopped hitting the ball until too late.

"Audra didn't miss. I hit some winners, but I made a lot of mistakes too."

Cohen said she slowed the pace later in the match, both between points and during points.

"I stopped rushing myself," she said. "She likes the fast pace, and I stopped feeding her."

Cohen announced after the match she is turning professional.

"I'm leaving behind some great relationships and the college atmosphere, but it is my time to go out and play professionally," she said.

Earlier, North Carolina roommates Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long rallied to beat the top-seeded William & Mary duo of Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zoricic for the NCAA women's doubles title.

Anundsen and Long, seeded second, won the first women's doubles title in school history 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Seniors Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom earned Middle Tennessee its first NCAA men's doubles title on their coach's final day before retiring.

Born and Siljestrom defeated Illinois' Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4). Coach Dale Short is retiring after 20 years at Middle Tennessee.

"I'm a little bit at a loss for words. To go out like that is a dream of a lifetime," Short said. "I have to give credit to the guys. They kept their composure, didn't think too far ahead and stepped up when it mattered."

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First, Nikolay Davydenko thought he might miss his match altogether. Then, he was worried rain wouldn't let him finish it.

Seeded fourth at the French Open, Davydenko beat Stefano Galvani of Italy 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in the only men's match completed Monday.

Davydenko and Galvani were both smiling as they finished in a heavy downpour.

What was Davydenko thinking near the end?

"Play faster," the Russian said.

Theirs was the first match scheduled for Court 1, with an 11 a.m. start, and Davydenko got caught in traffic on the way to Roland Garros from a practice court.

"I didn't take a shower, (didn't) change clothes," said Davydenko, semifinalist at the 2005 French Open. "Straight to the court."

However, after they warmed up, the match was delayed by rain. The players walked off the court and didn't start until about three hours later.

Two days into the clay-court tournament, only 14 matches were finished.

While speed around the court is considered one of Davydenko's strengths, he thinks Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo are the best in the game.

"For 100 meters, maybe I lose to everybody," Davydenko said.

SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP (SHOT): Li Na is thinking more about the Champs-Elysees than the red clay.

The 16th-seeded Chinese player advanced to the second round of the French Open by beating Sandra Kloesel of Germany 7-6 (4), 6-0 Monday.

But if Li loses her next match, she'll head to central Paris and its famed shopping avenue.

"I don't like clay, but I like Paris, you know, because I love the shopping," Li said with a laugh. "So for me, if I lose the match, I just go shopping."

Li reached the third round at Roland Garros last year, when she also got to Wimbledon's quarterfinals.

CORNET'S JUNIOR AMBITION: Alize Cornet wants one more shot at winning the French Open junior title.

The French teenager gave Venus Williams some tricky moments before losing 6-4, 6-3 in the first round Monday -- and now she wants to keep playing at Roland Garros.

"I will do the mixed doubles, the women's doubles, and the juniors next week," the 17-year-old said. "Winning the juniors will be a big objective. It's the last juniors of my life. I would love to finish with something good."

She will try to qualify for Wimbledon, although she acknowledges it will be tough.

"It could be a bit brutal," she said. "It's the first time I'm playing on grass. I'm not expecting big results."

STIFF HIP: Jamea Jackson could feel the cold at the French Open -- in her hip.

The 20-year-old American, who lost to Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-1, 6-2 Monday in the first round, had hip surgery in December.

"It definitely got stiff," Jackson said. "I was struggling to move."

She first noticed the hip pain shortly after last year's U.S. Open and wound up off the tour for about six months. The French Open was her first tour-level event of 2007.

It didn't help that showers fell for much of Monday, and the temperature was in the 50s.

"Just waiting around is difficult. It was cold and rainy, and it was just tough to get moving. I think that made my hip even stiffer," Jackson said.

"My speed is one of my weapons, and today it wasn't really there, especially out to the backhand side. It's going to take me a while to get that back."

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Jelena Jankovic and Nicole Vaidisova are looking to make their Grand Slam breakthroughs, and this year's French Open could be the perfect opportunity.

Both players reached the semifinals at a major tournament last year, and both had to overcome adversity to make the main draw at Roland Garros this year.

Neither looked troubled Tuesday, reaching the second round in straight sets.

"I feel fine," said Jankovic, who beat Stephanie Foretz of France 6-2, 6-2 four days after withdrawing from the semifinals of a clay-court event in Strasbourg because of gastroenteritis.

"After that match, I was throwing up and didn't feel that great," the 22-year-old Serb said. "But after two days I was taking care, and I was resting and taking a lot of medicine, and now I'm healthy."

Vaidisova, who pulled out of three warmup tournaments with a right wrist injury, beat Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland 6-4, 6-3.

"For the last week and half, I've been pain-free," the 18-year-old Czech said. "But of course I'm lacking some matches."

Still, with the absences of Kim Clijsters (retired), Lindsay Davenport (pregnant) and Martina Hingis (injured hip), this could be their chance to finally reach a Grand Slam final.

The main competition figures to come from top-ranked Justine Henin -- the two-time defending champion -- Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Amelie Mauresmo.

Of those four, only Henin has already reached the second round at the rain-interrupted tournament, beating Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-4, 6-3 Sunday. The other three were scheduled to play their first matches Wednesday -- when Henin tries to get to the third round.

Both Jankovic and Vaidisova will also be back in action Wednesday -- Jankovic faces Catalina Castano of Colombia, while Vaidisova takes on Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan.

"I feel more mature, more experienced," said Jankovic, a semifinalist at the 2006 U.S. Open. "All I care (about) is to keep improving."

Even Foretz was impressed.

"She's been playing really well," the Frenchwoman said. "She has the capacities to go very deep into the tournament."

Vaidisova followed up a semifinal appearance at last year's French Open with another at the Australian Open in January. But the long injury layoff might make things tougher this time in Paris.

"I haven't played in a while, so it's always tough coming back," the sixth-seeded Vaidisova said. "I just really want to be healthy right now."

She still tapes her wrist when she plays, but she said it was just as a precaution.

"I don't have to think anymore about the wrist, if it's going to hurt it or not hurt it," Vaidisova said. "I don't have to have it in the back of my mind."

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Andy Roddick knows the story well, so he politely declined the official match DVD that players are offered at the French Open.

"No, thanks," the No. 3-seeded Roddick said. "I just don't want to see that ever again."

He had just exited in the first round at Roland Garros for the fourth time in six years, a four-set loss to 125th-ranked Igor Andreev of Russia that was part of an 0-8 showing by U.S. men Tuesday at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament.

The worst American performance at the French Open in at least 30 years began, understandably enough, at the hands of No. 1 Roger Federer. He started his quest for a fourth consecutive major title by finishing a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Michael Russell in a match suspended by rain during the second set Monday.

Then Justin Gimelstob lost to No. 32 Nicolas Almagro in straight sets. And Amer Delic was sent home by 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero. Roddick's 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 departure came next, followed in quick succession by those of Robert Kendrick, Sam Querrey, a racket-tossing Vince Spadea and No. 8 James Blake, who watched 22 aces zoom past in a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 defeat against 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic near day's end.

Au revoir, mes amis! Two members of the Top 10 (Roddick and Blake), a 19-year-old up-and-comer (Querrey), a late bloomer (Delic), a handful of veterans -- no matter the profile, the result was the same Tuesday.

One of their countrymen remained in the draw, at least until play resumes: The ninth and final U.S. representative, Robby Ginepri, split the first two sets against Diego Hartfield of Argentina before their match was suspended because of fading light.

"It's no secret we haven't done that great on clay this year," Blake said, "but I think we have the ability."

Granted, they're hardly the only American men who've found the red clay of Paris more troublesome than what's underfoot at other majors. No U.S. man won the French Open between Tony Trabert in 1955 and Michael Chang in 1989, and Andre Agassi was the last to do it, in 1999.

Such greats as Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors never hoisted a French Open singles trophy. Connors is now Roddick's coach and had a front-row seat as Andreev accumulated a stunning 38-1 edge in forehand winners.

"A loss is never any good. But the good thing is, from my standpoint, I can understand," Connors said. "I can understand, because I had some tough times here myself."

Still, it's not as though Roddick, Blake and Co. are coming as close as McEnroe, who reached the final in Paris, or Sampras and Connors, who reached the semifinals. And consider this: Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy all have three men in this French Open's second round. France has 11, Argentina nine.

"It's frustrating, but we'll hopefully get it back on grass," Blake said. "I promise we won't have all eight guys losing in the first round at Wimbledon."

Showers limited action on Days 1 and 2, creating a backlog of matches, but the clouds finally parted Tuesday. Fans swapped umbrellas for sunglasses, the better to catch glimpses of various story lines -- including a French Open-record six men quitting first-round matches because of illness or injury.

Two-time defending champion Rafael Nadal, playing for the first time since his 81-match clay winning streak was stopped by Federer this month, began a fresh run. His opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, served for the first set at 5-3, but Nadal broke him, reeled off eight consecutive games and won in straight sets.

"I never played well in the first round here," said Nadal, who improved to 15-0 at Roland Garros. "I never played well in the first round or the second round, and not very often in the third round. That's the truth."

A third highly seeded man joined Roddick and Blake on the way out when No. 5 Fernando Gonzalez, the runner-up to Federer at the Australian Open, lost to Radek Stepanek 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. Other results of note included wins by 2004 French Open champion Gaston Gaudio and two-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt, while No. 28 Philipp Kohlschreiber outlasted Lukas Dlouhy 17-15 in the fifth set.

Martin Verkerk, the Dutchman who made a surprising run to the 2003 French Open final then dropped off the tour entirely after injuries, lost his first Grand Slam match in three years.

The biggest upset in women's play came when No. 11 Nadia Petrova, a French Open semifinalist in 2005, lost to Kveta Peschke. No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, No. 6 Nicole Vaidisova and 2004 runner-up Elena Dementieva won in straight sets.

But the focus was sharply on the U.S. men, particularly Roddick, who won the 2003 U.S. Open and has played in three other Grand Slam finals. He's never fared better than the third round in France, however, in part because clay dulls his serve and forehand.

Despite that, he regarded reaching the second week of this French Open as "a realistic goal" -- even after he knew he'd face Andreev, who upset Ferrero at Roland Garros in 2004 and was the last man to beat Nadal on clay before Federer.

Now Roddick once again will hop a plane home after one match.

"I feel a little bit better coming out of this than I have in the past. But at the same time, you know, same result," he said. "I'm not going to give up."

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Maria Sharapova showed there was no room for sentiment on Wednesday when she led a trio of Russian seeds into the second round of the French Open.

Playing under menacing clouds and in a rush to get off court before the heavens opened again over Roland Garros, the world number two was in unforgiving mood as local darling Emilie Loit hobbled around the court with a thigh strain.

Sharapova made light of her own patched-up shoulder as she powered to a 6-3 7-6 victory. She was joined in the last 64 by 2006 runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova and ninth seed Anna Chakvetadze, a 6-2 6-3 winner over Australia's Alicia Molik.

Wiimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo began her 13th tilt at winning her home grand slam with a 6-0 7-5 triumph over American Laura Granville.

Venus Williams made heavy weather of finishing off fellow American Ashley Harkleroad, letting slip a 5-1 lead in the second set before sealing a 6-1 7-6 second-round victory.

Kuznetsova avenged one of the most painful defeats of her career when she blew fellow Russian Ekaterina Bychkova off court 6-0 6-3.

The third seed was humiliated by Bychkova at the 2005 U.S. Open when she became the first defending champion to lose in the opening round.

Fast forward two years and Bychkova felt the full force of Kuznetsova's wrath.

The roller-coaster careers of another pair of Russians, former champion Anastasia Myskina and 22nd seed Marat Safin, took another nosedive.

FOOT SURGERY

Making her comeback after undergoing foot surgery in January, Myskina's challenge lasted 38 forgettable minutes as she was embarrassed 6-1 6-0 by American Meghann Shaughnessy.

Myskina, the first Russian woman to lift a grand slam title when she triumphed here in 2004, almost skipped the tournament due to injury.

She probably wished she had missed her flight out of Moscow after her painful experience on court 16.

Myskina, once ranked second in the world, is now floundering at 51 and has not won a match since reaching the final in Stockholm last August.

"I have to be a realist. I knew I was not going to win but I just wanted to see how my foot would feel," Myskina told reporters. "You can see I'm moving like a big cow now."

Shaughnessy's reward was a second-round date with Kuznetsova.

Safin raged, rolled in the red dirt and smashed a racket but his histrionics could not prevent a 6-4 6-4 7-5 mauling by Serb Janko Tipsarevic in the second round.

Sixth seed Novak Djokovic was a relieved man after he completed his first-round match a day after it started, defeating Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-3 7-6 6-4.

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Marat Safin's not quite sure how much longer he wants to play professional tennis.

"I'm 27 years old and already downhill on my career," the two-time Grand Slam champion said Wednesday after his second-round loss in the French Open.

"If it doesn't really click, and it doesn't make any radical changes, and nothing comes up, then we'll see. It would be sad to live with being a struggling player."

Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia beat the 22nd-seeded Safin 6-4, 6-4, 7-5

"For him, tennis is like a toy," said Tipsarevic, ranked 80th. "When it's interesting for him, no one in the world can beat him. But then when it's not interesting, he just doesn't show his talent."

Safin dominated the first half of the first set, but his lead melted away as he started sending the ball into the net.

"Nothing came together," he said. "It didn't click."

The Russian looked set to come back in the second set, when he hit a spectacular shot. During a long rally, Safin dashed to the net, dived to hit a winner and rolled across the court. He was covered in clay, a deep orange stain blooming across the back of his electric green and blue shirt. The effort and execution were so impressive, Tipsarevic took the time to applaud.

But the magic didn't last. Safin won that game but lost the following three.

He looked subdued, even despondent, most of the match, and his trademark bad-boy antics looked forced. Safin threw down his racket several times -- but never hard -- and once kicked the ball into the stands. But mostly he just threw up his hands in apparent exasperation and muttered softly to himself in Russian.

WRONG FOOT: Anastasia Myskina won the 2004 French Open. Now she'd love to win a match.

Myskina lost 6-1, 6-0 to Meghann Shaughnessy in the first round Wednesday, making the Russian 0-7 since August, when she injured a toe on her left foot.

She had surgery in January and was hampered in her movement against Shaughnessy, sometimes not even trying to chase down shots.

"You can see that I'm moving like a big cow now," Myskina said. "I can't run."

Players have been sympathetic about her injury -- but she's not sure if it's totally sincere.

"All of them smile to me. So it's nice," Myskina said. "But you never know what they say behind your back."

RETIREMENT RECORD: Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia became the seventh man to quit because of injury or illness during the first round, a French Open record that ties the Grand Slam mark.

Gabashvili trailed Flavio Cipolla of Italy 7-6 (6), 6-3, 5-2 when he stopped playing because of pain in his right wrist.

Seven men also quit during the first round of the 2002 U.S. Open.

LJUBICIC's CAUSE: Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia is wearing a special patch supporting the International Rescue Committee and promoting the cause of refugees.

When he was 13, his family fled the city of Banja Luka, now in Bosnia, because of war. He lived for months as a refugee in Slovenia and Croatia.

"I want to do whatever I can to draw attention to the plight of refugees around the world," Ljubicic said.

AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire contributed to this report.

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Venus Williams hit the fastest recorded serve in a women's tour main-draw match, reaching 128 mph at the French Open on Wednesday.

Brenda Schultz-McCarthy hit a serve at 130 mph during qualifying for the Cincinnati tournament last year, and the WTA said Wednesday it considers that to be the fastest serve in women's tennis history.

Serving at 4-1, 30-love in the second set of her second-round match against Ashley Harkleroad, Venus Williams smacked the record-breaking shot. Harkleroad actually got her racket on the ball, making it a service winner rather than an ace.

Williams noticed the readout of 206 kph -- which translates to 128 mph -- on the court's radar meter and let out a laugh, cracking her concentration.

"I loved it," she said. "I just lost a bit of focus there, for sure."

Williams wound up winning 6-1, 7-6 (.

"When I was younger, I was always trying to serve harder and harder, and now I'm not trying to serve hard. It comes hard," she said. "So it was unexpected."

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Robby Ginepri heard the news at breakfast before heading out to play Wednesday: He was the last U.S. man in the French Open.

By early afternoon, he was gone, too, making Americans 0-9 in the first round, the country's worst showing at Roland Garros in at least 40 years.

"They all wanted to win, like I did," Ginepri said. "And we're walking away with a loss. So it's tough."

It's the first time at any Grand Slam tournament since the 1973 Australian Open that no man representing the United States will play in the second round of singles -- and it's worth noting that no Americans entered that Australian Open.

U.S. men went 0-8 on the French Open's red clay Tuesday, with losses by No. 3-seeded Andy Roddick, No. 8 James Blake, Vince Spadea, Justin Gimelstob, Amer Delic, Robert Kendrick, Sam Querrey and Michael Russell.

"It kind of all happened fast," said Venus Williams, one of five American women still around.

The 48th-ranked Ginepri, a semifinalist at the 2005 U.S. Open, might have joined the exodus Tuesday night, but his match against Diego Hartfield of Argentina was suspended because of darkness after they split the first two sets.

When they resumed play Wednesday, Ginepri won the third set and went ahead 2-0 in the fourth, with Delic and Kendrick offering support from the 259-seat bleachers alongside Court 8. But Hartfield slowly took control as Ginepri's unforced errors mounted, and the final score was 6-4, 1-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

It's not as though Ginepri's status drew a big group of face-painted, "U-S-A!"-chanting fans. Indeed, the only flag being waved in the stands was Argentina's.

"I wasn't aware that he was the last American," Hartfield said. "An American journalist told me after the match."

Ginepri was aware of his status, although not until a few hours before he played. While grabbing a bite to eat, his coach, Diego Ayala, said, "You're the only one left."

Ginepri, though, was more focused on improving his personal record at Roland Garros, which now stands at 0-5. He's had problems on all surfaces in 2007, going 4-9 on tour, including six consecutive losses.

"Right now, for me, it's more mental," he said, adding that he's been working with a sports psychologist.

Apparently, the entire contingent of American men could use some help with their approach on clay. Roddick, Blake and others acknowledge that part of the problem is they don't spend as much time playing or practicing on the surface as they do on hard courts, for example.

"It is to be expected that they would be eliminated in the first or second round," Hartfield said. "We're used to playing on clay. We (Argentines) are eliminated early in the U.S. Open -- it's the same thing."

Clay tends to slow shots and make for longer points, often rewarding patience while punishing aggressiveness. It also requires plenty of good footwork.

This isn't the first year Americans have struggled on clay. After all, no one from the country won the men's singles championship in Paris between Tony Trabert's title in 1955 and Michael Chang's in 1989. From 2004-06, only one American man made it as far as the third round: Blake, last year.

"It's just a different type of game and mentality you have to have out here on the clay," Ginepri said. "And I think we're all still trying to figure it out."

He was asked whether part of the problem is that Americans don't take the French Open as seriously as tennis' other major events -- Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open -- which are played on faster surfaces.

"Oh, no, no. It's definitely a Grand Slam in our minds. It's one of the biggest events of the year," Ginepri said. "And no matter what surface it's on, it still counts."

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Maria Sharapova's achy right shoulder might have been to blame for a few shaky moments at the French Open on Wednesday.

Her confidence? Perfectly intact.

After taking time off and getting a cortisone shot for what she called the worst injury of her career, Sharapova got through her first test at Roland Garros, playing through a drizzle to beat Emilie Loit of France 6-3, 7-6 (4).

"Even without a serve," the two-time Grand Slam champion said, "I'm good enough to win many matches."

She certainly was on a day when several top players had lapses before managing to win, including Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Roger Federer -- who complained he was sent out on court too late in the day, saying, "I can hardly see the ball. You start stressing out."

That trio reached the third round; Sharapova got to the second.

"My shoulder is still not where I want it to be," said the No. 2-seeded Sharapova, sidelined for about two months with what she was said was nearly a tear in the joint. "It's still not perfect. At times I still feel it."

Whatever problems Sharapova's shoulder presented, she was able to overcome them thanks, at least in part, to her legs, which enabled her to reach shot after shot.

"She covers the court very well," Loit said. "I mean, she runs fast."

No woman ever has served faster at a Grand Slam tournament than Williams did during her 6-1, 7-6 ( victory over Ashley Harkleroad, a match that suddenly swung from ho-hum to harrowing for the five-time major champion.

Williams was ahead 6-1, 4-1, 30-love when she hit her record 128 mph serve, then peeked at the speed readout and nearly doubled over in laughter.

"I loved it," she said.

But the moment also cracked her concentration. After winning the next point to make it 5-1, Williams dropped five consecutive games, squandering match points along the way.

"I really just got overconfident," said Williams, who next faces No. 4 Jelena Jankovic. "I was just feeling like I couldn't lose -- and then it was even."

In the tiebreaker, Harkleroad held five set points, all of which Williams saved before finally coming through.

"By the time I started playing a little bit better," Harkleroad said, "it was almost too late."

She's one of five American women who've lost in singles, while Williams is among five still in the tournament. The others are her sister Serena, whose match was postponed because of darkness; Meghann Shaughnessy, who beat injured 2004 French Open champion Anastasia Myskina 6-1, 6-0; Meilen Tu; and Jill Craybas.

That's far better than the U.S. men, who went 0-9 in the first round in their worst performance at the French Open in at least 40 years.

"We weren't really brought up on a clay court, I guess," Harkleroad said.

Like Harkleroad, Henin's opponent, 16-year-old Tamira Paszek of Austria, reeled off five straight games to make things interesting after trailing 5-0 in the first set.

"You can see the points going by," two-time defending champion Henin said. "I remained calm. I could have lost my mind."

Federer was among the last players ushered into action, and he was hardly pleased. Evening was on its way, clouds filled the sky, and rain was falling.

He wasted two match points while serving at 5-4 in the third set, then three more in the tiebreaker, before dispatching Thierry Ascione of France 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (.

"What I don't like is if they think that, OK, you know, I'm the favorite, I should win this in straight sets -- 'Let's get Roger's match over and done with,' " he said. "What about if it doesn't turn out this way?"

The day's biggest surprise was 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych's loss to 64th-ranked Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, while two-time major champion Marat Safin tumbled through the clay, chucked his racket and kicked tennis balls in disgust during his 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 defeat against Janko Tipsarevic.

Local fans were disappointed to see No. 11 Richard Gasquet of France depart early, but thrilled that Gael Monfils eliminated No. 18 Juan Ignacio Chela, and Michael Llodra beat No. 32 Nicolas Almagro.

There were no significant upsets on the women's side, and while Sharapova never truly seemed headed for one, her play was hardly perfect.

She allowed seven break points to slip away during the opening game. She made 34 unforced errors, one more than Loit. And she got broken to fall behind 6-5 in the second set. Sharapova then was down 3-2 in the tiebreaker before taking five of the next six points.

During the match's first changeover, Loit took a medical timeout so she could have a troublesome leg muscle treated by a trainer. While they were gone, Sharapova donned a deep blue jacket that looked more like something for an art gallery opening than for an athlete. She stood alone on court, stretched out her shoulder, then practiced serving.

"I love going out here and I love competing," she said. "As long as the doctors give me an OK, as long as I can play through the little aches and pains ... I'm willing to do it."