On a day of adieus at the French Open, Maria Sharapova managed to stick around.
Trailing through most of the third set in her toughest test since shoulder surgery, Sharapova
pulled out a 6-2, 1-6, 8-6 victory over 11th-seeded Nadia Petrova on Wednesday to reach the third
round at Roland Garros, her return to Grand Slam tennis.
"I kind of started stumbling away. Things went in the wrong direction," said Sharapova, who
missed the US Open and Australian Open. "I was just glad I could pick myself up and keep
fighting."
That she did: Five times, Petrova was one point away from serving for the match. But Sharapova
didn't allow her to convert those chances.
"She really showed, even though she has been out for a while, she's willing to compete till the
end," Petrova acknowledged.
Sharapova's French Open continues, as does Rafael Nadal's winning streak at Roland Garros — which
he extended to a tournament-record 30 matches — but there will be no more trips to the clay-court
major for Marat Safin or Fabrice Santoro.
Both are retiring at season's end, and both bowed out Wednesday, albeit in quite contrasting
ways, which is fitting, given their polar-opposite styles of play and personalities.
The big-hitting, loud-talking Safin succumbed after a 4½-hour, five-set bit of theater; the
spin-mixing, gentlemanly Santoro played all of eight minutes to conclude his loss to Christophe
Rochus in a match suspended the night before by darkness.
"My game style was out of date when I arrived on the tour. I got on the tour in the '90s, and my
style dated back to the '70s," said Santoro, who tied a French Open record by playing in his 20th
French Open. "So when I arrived, I was, you know, 20 years late already."
Safin, meanwhile, entertained as only he can, diving for shots, kicking at the clay in disgust,
and gesturing at fans to make even more noise when they got on his case for arguing calls.
The two-time major title winner eventually was beaten by 134th-ranked Josselin Ouanna of France
7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 3-6, 10-8.
"I played terrible," the 20th-seeded Safin said.
He was done as dusk fell, around the time Venus Williams lost the first set of her match against
Lucie Safarova. They were told to pack up, because there wasn't enough light
Trailing through most of the third set in her toughest test since shoulder surgery, Sharapova
pulled out a 6-2, 1-6, 8-6 victory over 11th-seeded Nadia Petrova on Wednesday to reach the third
round at Roland Garros, her return to Grand Slam tennis.
"I kind of started stumbling away. Things went in the wrong direction," said Sharapova, who
missed the US Open and Australian Open. "I was just glad I could pick myself up and keep
fighting."
That she did: Five times, Petrova was one point away from serving for the match. But Sharapova
didn't allow her to convert those chances.
"She really showed, even though she has been out for a while, she's willing to compete till the
end," Petrova acknowledged.
Sharapova's French Open continues, as does Rafael Nadal's winning streak at Roland Garros — which
he extended to a tournament-record 30 matches — but there will be no more trips to the clay-court
major for Marat Safin or Fabrice Santoro.
Both are retiring at season's end, and both bowed out Wednesday, albeit in quite contrasting
ways, which is fitting, given their polar-opposite styles of play and personalities.
The big-hitting, loud-talking Safin succumbed after a 4½-hour, five-set bit of theater; the
spin-mixing, gentlemanly Santoro played all of eight minutes to conclude his loss to Christophe
Rochus in a match suspended the night before by darkness.
"My game style was out of date when I arrived on the tour. I got on the tour in the '90s, and my
style dated back to the '70s," said Santoro, who tied a French Open record by playing in his 20th
French Open. "So when I arrived, I was, you know, 20 years late already."
Safin, meanwhile, entertained as only he can, diving for shots, kicking at the clay in disgust,
and gesturing at fans to make even more noise when they got on his case for arguing calls.
The two-time major title winner eventually was beaten by 134th-ranked Josselin Ouanna of France
7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 3-6, 10-8.
"I played terrible," the 20th-seeded Safin said.
He was done as dusk fell, around the time Venus Williams lost the first set of her match against
Lucie Safarova. They were told to pack up, because there wasn't enough light
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