American women undefeated at French Open
American women are perfect in Paris. Through two days of the French Open, the U.S. is 10-for-10 in first-round matches, with Serena Williams and Jamie Hampton hoping to make it a pristine opening round on Tuesday. Busted Racquet looks at each American victory on the red clay of Roland Garros.
Venus Williams def. Paula Ormaechea (ARG), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 --- The elder Williams sister was playing her first Grand Slam match since withdrawing from last year's U.S. Open while feeling the effects of her recently diagnosed Sjogren's syndrome. After a sluggish start, the 31-year-old shook off the rust and benefited from some shaky play by the young Argentinian.
Melanie Oudin def. Johanna Larsson (SWE), 6-3, 6-3 -- Remember her? Still not 21, Oudin had a precipitous fall after her runs to the fourth round of Wimbledon and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open made her a national star in 2009. She was No. 31 in the rankings in April 2010 and then bottomed out at No. 370 two years later. Entering Roland Garros, she was at No. 269 in the world, No. 24 in the United States and hadn't won in her last 13 tour-level events.
[Related: Venus Williams wins in French Open return and looks nice to boot]
Irina Falconi def. Edina Gallovits-Hall (ROU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 -- Falconi's reward for a tough three-set win: She'll see defending U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur in the second round.
Alexa Glatch def. Anna Tatishvili (GEO), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 -- As the sun set over Paris, Glatch ground out a victory against Tatishvili, a Georgia (the country) native who now lives in Florida. "I didn't want that match to go any longer," she told reporters.
Lauren Davis def. Mona Barthel (GER) [30], 6-1, 6-1 -- Barthel was a seed for the first time in her Grand Slam career and entered with unusually high expectations (from the oddsmakers, at least.) Davis, the American teenager, had something to say about that, making quick work of the German for her first Slam victory.
[Best love in Paris photo: Wozniacki-McIlroy vs. Kirilenko-Ovechkin]
Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. Sabine Lisicki [12], 6-4, 6-3 -- Mattek-Sands spent much of the past year battling a shoulder injury. She showed few ill signs of it Monday with an easy win over the oft-injured No. 12 seed, Sabine Lisicki. The only disappointment in Mattek-Sands' day? Players in the locker room were disappointed with her relatively low-key outfit.
Christina McHale def. Kiki Bertens (NED), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 -- McHale was down a break late but rallied to win her first-ever French Open match. She's 4-0 in her last four first-rounds at majors.
Vania King def. Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ), 6-4, 6-2 -- Flying under the radar, as usual, King cruised against Voskoboeva. She'll play No. 15 seed Dominika Cibulkova later this week.
Sloane Stephens def. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS), 6-4, 7-6 (6) -- Another teenage victory for the Americans. Stephens outhit the higher-ranked Russian to set up a USA-USA meeting against Mattek-Sands.
Varvara Lepchenko def. Ksenia Pervak (KAZ), 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-4 -- The last match of the first two days was the the closest call. Lepchenko failed to convert multiple match points in both the second and third sets before finally outlasting the 39th-ranked Pervak.
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