The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Hard-earned win for Henin-Hardenne

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 02, 2006

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Hard-earned win for Henin-Hardenne

PARIS: Defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, celebrating her 24th birthday, saved three set points before beating unheralded Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus 6-2, 7-5 to reach the third round of the French Open on Thursday.

Slow start

In men's play, Hewitt overcame a slow start to beat Mathieu Montcourt 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. The 14th-seeded Hewitt, who has been hampered by calf and ankle injuries, was playing only his third match since early April.

The Australian will next face No. 22 Dominik Hrbaty, who overcame Ivo Karlovic's 31 aces to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-2.

Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis, seeded 19th, lost to Julien Benneteau 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-4.

"It's been tough for me after Australia — a lot of questions in my head, a lot of doubts," Baghdatis said. "It's not so easy. I think I need some time. I need some experience to find my way through."

Qualifier Martin Vassallo Arguello, ranked 181st, trailed when his match was halted after three sets but rallied to beat No. 21 Sebastien Grosjean 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Paes-Damm pair out

Meanwhile in men's doubles, the seventh-seeded pair of Leander Paes and his Czech partner Martin Damm crashed out after a 6-1, 7-6 first round loss against the Serbian-Russian pair of Janko Tipsarevic and Mikhail Youzhny.

THE RESULTS

Prefix denotes seedings

Men's singles: Second round: 11-Radek Stepanek (Czec) bt Davide Sanguinetti (Ita) 6-3, 6-3, 6-1; 27-Olivier Rochus (Bel) bt Jiri Vanek (Cze) 6-2, 6-0, 6-2; 14-Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) bt Mathieu Montcourt (Fra) 7-5, 6-3, 6-3; 31-Dmitry Tursunov (Rus) bt Tim Henman (GBR) 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4; Martin Vassallo Arguello (Arg) bt 21-Sebastien Grosjean (Fra) 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2; 7-Tommy Robredo (Esp) bt Ilia Bozoljac (SCG) 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1; Julien Benneteau (Fra) bt 19-Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-4;22-Dominik Hrbaty (Svk) bt Ivo Karlovic (Cro) 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-2.

32-Nicolas Massu (Chi) bt Max Mirnyi (Blr) 6-4, 7-5, 6-4; 13-Nicolas Kiefer (Ger) bt Marc Gicquel (Fra) 6-0, 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 11-9; Lukas Dlouhy (Cze) bt 26-Jose Acasuso (Arg) 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-1; 24-Juan Carlos Ferrero (Esp) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (Ger) 6-2, 6-4, 6-2; 3-David Nalbandian (Arg) bt Richard Gasquet (Fra) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, 6-0; 12-Mario Ancic (Cro) bt Paul Capdeville (Chi) 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(3).

Women's singles: Second round: 19-Ana Ivanovic (SCG) bt Emilie Loit (Fra) 6-1, 6-1; 10-Anastasia Myskina (Rus) bt Melinda Czink (Hun) 6-2, 6-4; 5-Justine Henin-Hardenne (Bel) bt Anastasiya Yakimova (Blr) 6-2, 7-5; 31-Shahar Peer (Isr) bt Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, 6-2, 6-3; 15-Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) bt Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Sui) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3; 32-Gisela Dulko (Arg) bt Yuliana Fedak (Ukr) 6-2, 6-4.

1-Amelie Mauresmo (Fra) bt Vera Dushevina of 6-1,7-6(5); 9-Francesca Schiavone (Ita) bt Martina Muller (Ger) 6-2, 6-2.

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