Day - 3

MURRAY, SAFINA ADVANCE

Brit Relies On Brains For Win; Russian Banks On Brawn

Andy Murray relied on brains and Dinara Safina banked on brawn to reach the third round of the French Open on Wednesday.

World No.1 Safina followed up her 6-0 6-0 walloping of Britain’s Anne Keothavong in the first round with a 6-1 6-1 demolition of luckless fellow Russian Vitalia Diatchenko.

Murray overcame a midmatch wobble by changing tactics to eventually tame Italian Potito Starace 6-3 2-6 7-5 6-4. After losing the second set, Murray ran around aimlessly chasing shadows and looked in danger of going two-sets-to-one down as Starace streaked 5-1 ahead. Guile and deft shot-making allowed the Briton to save two set points as he dug himself out of a hole.

Sharapova, Ivanovic through

Maria Sharapova battled into the French Open last 32 as Roland Garros glimpsed the future of women’s tennis in the shape of high-volume, big-hitting, 16-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito.

Triple Grand Slam title winner Sharapova, playing only her second tournament following a 10-month lay-off to recover from shoulder surgery, shook off the cobwebs with a bruising 6-2 1-6 8-6 win over Russian compatriot Nadia Petrova. Reigning champion Ana Ivanovic eased past Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand 6-1 6-2.

Portuguese teenager De Brito only turned 16 in January and, like Sharapova, is a graduate of the Nick Bolletieri academy. Making her Grand Slam debut, de Brito came through qualifying and on Wednesday made sure of a place in the last 32 with a 6-4 6-3 win over Zheng Jie.

Santoro signs off after 20 Opens

Fabrice Santoro walked off the court at the French Open for the last time Wednesday, ending his record-tying run of 20 straight appearances at Roland Garros. The 36-yearold Frenchman played only eight minutes Wednesday before completing a first-round loss to Christophe Rochus of Belgium 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

The match had been suspended Tuesday. “When I started my career on court No. 10 in 1989, I did not imagine at all that I would hold the microphone in my hands 20 years later in front of you,’’ Santoro said to the crowd at Court Suzanne Lenglen. “Those were extraordinary and fantastic years that I will never forget.’’

Santoro has played in a record 67 Grand Slam tournaments, making the fourth round three times - at the French Open in 1991 and 2001 and at the Australian Open in 1999. “Twenty years. That counts for something in a lifetime,’’ Santoro said. “It has been a long road, a fantastic career. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot.’’ Santoro and Rochus started their match Tuesday, but it was suspended by darkness with the Belgian leading 5-3 in the fourth set.

The pair came back out onto the court after Dinara Safina’s easy win and finished the match quickly. “I’m saying to myself that the story is over, that a page is being turned,’’ Santoro said. “I will no longer be on court next year. But I think that it is time to go.’’ Santoro plans to play other tournaments before retiring at the end of the year. Besides tying Francois Jauffret’s record for appearances at the French Open, Santoro also holds the record for the longest match at the Paris tournament in the Open era.

“That was in 2004. A match lasting 6 hours, 33 minutes on this same court,’’ said Santoro, who beat Arnaud Clement in the first round that year 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 3-6, 16-14.

World number one Rafael Nadal will play against Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia tomorrow.



Hope he will advance one more step towards title with easy win.