PARIS (AP):WHEN THE ball was in play, Maria Sharapova at least was able to make something happen.
The top-seeded Russian struggled with her serve in the wind at the French Open, hitting 17 double-faults and barely managing to defeat 103rd-ranked Evgeniya Rodina 6-1, 3-6, 8-6 yesterday in the first round.
Rafael Nadal had an easier time in his opener, improving to 22-0 for his career at Roland Garros by defeating Thomaz Bellucci 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 in a rain-interrupted match.
After rain suspended play on Tuesday with the score at 1-1, Nadal was broken twice in the first set yesterday, including while serving for the set at 5-3 before eventually winning.
Windy conditions
"In two days I only practised 20 minutes," said Nadal, adding the windy conditions were tough. "Difficult to go to the court and have a good rhythm. And first match, always you are nervous."
Nadal, seeded No. 2 behind Roger Federer, is trying to become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1978-81 to win the clay-court Grand Slam tournament four years in a row. His next opponent is another qualifier, Nicolas Devilder of France.
Third-seeded Novak Djokovic moved into the third round by beating Miguel Angel Lopez Jaen of Spain 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.
"It's always good to have an easy match," the Australian Open champion said.
No. 5 Serena Williams, the only former champion in the women's field, won the final four games to beat Mathilde Johansson of France 6-2, 7-5 and advanced to the third round.
Sharapova landed only 64 per cent of her first serves in the match on centre court, where she is trying to complete a career Grand Slam at the clay-court major.
"I was very close to losing this match," Sharapova said. "Not many things were working for me today after the first set."
Strong serves
The 19-year-old Rodina came within two points of winning at 5-4 in the third set, but Sharapova won the next two with strong serves to hold. At 6-6, Sharapova regained control by breaking serve for the first time in the final set, returning a second serve with a big forehand that caught Rodina flat-footed.
Then, serving for the match, Sharapova double-faulted one final time, but took the next three points to end it.
In the fifth game of the second set, Sharapova double-faulted three times in a row. After the third, she put her hands on her hips and stared blankly.
"I had problems in every department of my game today, so I'll have to improve on every aspect of those things," Sharapova said.
Consistent groundstrokes
Although Sharapova was having trouble landing her serves, the three-time Grand Slam champion was more consistent with her groundstrokes, often playing long rallies before hitting a winner or waiting for Rodina to make a mistake.
"I just hung in there. It was far from my best tennis today," Sharapova said. "But at the end of the day you try to learn from your mistakes."
Sharapova didn't directly blame the windy conditions for her poor play.
"Apart from eating and breathing the sand, it was great," she said.
