Safin through, Serena struggles at Open

PARIS – Former world number one Marat Safin braved biting cold and swirling rain to become the first player to reach the French Open second round yesterday.

The Russian eased past Spanish qualifier Fernando Vicente 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 as the second Grand Slam tournament of the season got off to a soggy start. Safin, the 22nd seed here and a semi-finalist in 2002, will face either Janko Tipsarevic or Dusan Vemic for a place in the third round.The rain, which eventually brought a suspension of play to all courts, came as a relief for 2002 women’s champion Serena Williams.The American winner of eight Grand Slam titles, seeded eight and playing at Roland Garros for the first time in three years, was 5-6 down to Tsvetana Pironkova when play was halted with the Bulgarian 19-year-old serving for the opening set.Safin, playing in his ninth French Open, looked impressive against the 133-ranked Vicente and wrapped up his centre court win in just 84 minutes hitting 43 winners to the Spaniard’s 14.Later Sunday, Justin Henin, bidding for a third successive French Open title and a fourth in five years, was due to open her campaign against Russia’s Elena Vesnina while Venus Williams was set to play Frenchwoman Alize Cornet.However, with more heavy rain expected and temperatures plummeting to 15 degrees, there were doubts over how much play would take place later in the day.Nampa-AFPSafin, the 22nd seed here and a semi-finalist in 2002, will face either Janko Tipsarevic or Dusan Vemic for a place in the third round.The rain, which eventually brought a suspension of play to all courts, came as a relief for 2002 women’s champion Serena Williams.The American winner of eight Grand Slam titles, seeded eight and playing at Roland Garros for the first time in three years, was 5-6 down to Tsvetana Pironkova when play was halted with the Bulgarian 19-year-old serving for the opening set.Safin, playing in his ninth French Open, looked impressive against the 133-ranked Vicente and wrapped up his centre court win in just 84 minutes hitting 43 winners to the Spaniard’s 14.Later Sunday, Justin Henin, bidding for a third successive French Open title and a fourth in five years, was due to open her campaign against Russia’s Elena Vesnina while Venus Williams was set to play Frenchwoman Alize Cornet.However, with more heavy rain expected and temperatures plummeting to 15 degrees, there were doubts over how much play would take place later in the day.Nampa-AFP