On the rainy first day of the French Open, four players advanced to the second round: the defending champion and three-time Roland Garros winner Justine Henin, the 2002 French Open winner Serena Williams, Dinara Safina of Russia, and Tamira Paszek of Austria.
Serena Williams, who has never lost in the first round of a Grand Slam, struggled through the opening set, but eventually dominated Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. Serena was broken four times in the first set, and again in the opening game of the second. But then, she found her rhythm and everything went smoothly towards the end. The eight-time Grand Slam winner could thank the rainy weather which disrupted the match at the moment Pironkova lead 6-5. The break seemed to have helped the eighth seed to collect herself and win the match.
Top-seeded Justine Henin also advanced to the second round by beating Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-4, 6-3. Her opponent in the second round will be Austria’s Tamira Paszek who beat Aiko Nakamura of Japan 6-4, 6-0.
Dinara Safina, No. 10 seed, defeated Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4. (source: ESPN)
