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Only 10 women’s matches were completed on Thursday at Roland Garros due to rain, as Top 10ers Jelena Jankovic and Elena Dementieva led the advancement of the top seeds.
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The No. 4-seeded Jankovic struggled to a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over Estonia qualifier Kaia Kanepi, while the No. 5-seeded Dementieva likewise was tested 6-2, 7-6(3) by Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues.
“Overall it was very difficult because of the conditions,” said Jankovic of the rain. “I came here around 9 in the morning. To be waiting around in the locker room, it’s really not easy. Then you go on the court, and I started pretty well…the conditions were much more different than in the first round when I played, because the court was much slower, the balls were heavier. So overall the play was much, much slower.”
Three seeds were sent home Thursday when Yaroslava Shvedova upended (8) Agnieszka Radwanska in straights, Aussie Anastasia Rodionova topped (21) Vera Zvonareva in straights, and Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak straight-setted (32) Kateryna Bondarenko.
Other seeds advancing were (11) Li Na, (17) Francesca Schiavone, (18) Shahar Peer who out-dueled (LL) Bethanie Mattek-Sands 3-6, 6-0, 6-1, and (28) Alisa Kleybanova who powered past former champ Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-0.
“I don’t think I played that bad, actually,” said Ivanovic after getting bageled. “For a while I think she didn’t miss a ball at all. She made so many winners, too. It was just very hard, because many important points she played really, really well, and I didn’t think I did too much wrong out there, you know. I was also a little bit unlucky with so many line calls on my serve and just everything going out.”
Aussie wildcard Jarmila Groth ended the dream run of injured 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm 6-0, 6-3.
Matches suspended due to darkness were (12) Maria Sharapova leading Kirsten Flipkens 6-3, 2-2; (WC) Olivia Sanchez leading (13) Marion Bartoli 5-4; and (22) Justine Henin leading Klara Zakopalova 6-3, 3-2.
Highlights on tap for Friday at Roland Garros are (22) Henin vs. Zakopalova (to finish), (26) Dominika Cibulkova vs. (2) Venus Williams, (15) Aravane Rezai vs. (19) Nadia Petrova, (1) Serena Williams vs. Julia Goerges, (5) Elena Dementieva vs. Aleksandra Wozniak, (31) Alexandra Dulgheru vs. (3) Caroline Wozniacki, (6) Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. (30) Maria Kirilenko, (12) Sharapova vs. Flipkens (to finish), and (17) Francesca Schiavone vs. (11) Na Li.
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