Wednesday, June 1, 2011

A slow Sunday start for the French Open, but a big Monday in store

The French Open is the only Grand Slam that starts on a Sunday, so you'd think organizers would take advantage by jam-packing the day with matches featuring top players and fan favorites. If by "top players" you mean "French top players" and "fan favorites "French fan favorites" then this was the day for you. If not, action picks up as the week begins. A brief recap of the action from the opening day of the French Open:

? Of the eight matches on Courts Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen, seven were decided in straight sets.

? American tennis problems? What American tennis problems? Bethanie Mattek-Sands came down from a set and a break to win her first-round match over Arantxa Parra Santonja and the Ukranian-born Varvara Lepchenko, who became a U.S. citizen in 2007, pulled the biggest upset of the day in defeating No. 17 seed Flavia Pennetta. The Americans will meet in the second round.

? Seeded straight-set winners from the day included: Sam Stosur, David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Jelena Jankovic, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Julie Goerges. Upset losers: Marin Cilic, Shahar Peer.

? Lleyton Hewitt withdrew from the tournament due to an ankle injury. Like Andy Roddick before him, it was likely part injury/part preemptive strike against the red clay of Roland Garros that would have felled him anyway.

? Monday's action should pick up the slack after a subpar Sunday. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer play the middle matches on Court Philippe Chatrier after defending women's champion Francesca Schiavone opens the day against Melanie Oudin. For the hometown fans, Marion Bartoli, Aravane Rezai, Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet also take to the two stadium courts. The lineup at Court 1 is just as good: Juan Martin Del Potro is on the first match against the big-serving Ivo Karlovic and world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki closes the session against the ageless Kimiko Date-Krumm.

Kristen Bell The Pussycat Dolls Isla Fisher Sophia Bush Megan Fox

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