Safina was 0-2 career against Williams, but the elder Williams sister could not hold on to a set and a break in the second lead. Safina leads Kuznetsova 7-5 in career meetings, but lost to her countrywoman last weekend in the Stuttgart final.

“Well, we all know who the real No. 1 is,” Williams said Monday in response to a question regarding her world No. 2 standing and Safina’s top spot. “Quite frankly, I’m the best in the world.”

“We both played aggressive,” Venus told the media. “She’s just going for every shot, for the lines. I was OK with the match being a little longer. I just I want to hit balls. In a way it’s not too bad to go three sets.”

“One of the most important of my career,” Nadal told reporters in regard to the Rome title. “Win in Rome is a a big title. I have right now 15 Masters 1000 in my career, so that’s a lot, and I’m very happy for that. Win here in Rome is always unbelievable.”

No. 12 seed Fernando “Gonzo” Gonzalez impressively broke his racquet in half over his knee in the first set before overcoming unseeded Austrian Jurgen “Tuna” Melzer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Barcelona runner-up David Ferrer was another first-round casualty, losing a rain-delayed three-setter to France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu.

“I don’t know how I’m going turn it around,” Blake said. “I’ve played worse before and turned it around and had some good results — hopefully this time it’ll be the same. I’ll have some bad times and there will be plenty of ups too hopefully still after my career. If I don’t start playing better than I did today, I’ll be out (of the French Open) early though. I need to make some adjustments in the next three weeks.”

“She’s a young player with great potential, and I just didn’t know how she was going to play,” Jankovic said. “And of course, she wasn’t the favorite. I was the favorite and had the pressure on me. I was defending my title and I’m glad I could cope with the pressure and win it for the second time.”