27 May 2009

Blake out as Serena scraps past stubborn Czech in Paris

6:20 pm on 27 May 2009

A little-known tennis player from Argentina has posted the biggest upset so far at the French Open on the third day, knocking the 15th-seeded American James Blake out in straight sets.

Leonardo Mayer came out of the qualifying rounds to beat Blake, winning the first set in a tiebreak before closing out the match 7-5 6-2.

There have been no major upsets so far in Paris, although the American tennis player Serena Williams had to fight off swirling winds and a bold challenge by the Czech Klara Zakopalova to reach the second round in Paris.

It took the Australian Open champion two hours and 25 minutes to clinch her first win on clay this season, winning 6-3 6-7 6-4.

Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro and Jelena Jankovic were the other big names to progress.

The fifth-seeded Serb Jankovic had to cope with a two-hour rain delay before beating another Czech, Petra Cetkovska, in straight sets.

The seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia also cruised through, but the Danish 10th seed Caroline Wozniacki had a tougher time against Russia's Vera Dushevina, winning in three sets.

Australia's Jelena Dokic also took three sets to beat Karolina Sprem of Croatia.

The Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva had no such problems with the South African Chanelle Scheepers, winning 6-4 6-3. Virginie Razzano of France also knocked out Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova in straight sets, while Spain's Virginia Ruano did the same to the Czech Nicole Vaidisova.

In an upset, the 22nd-seeded American Mardy Fish lost a four-setter in a tiebreak to the unseeded Argentine Maximo Gonzalez.

The ninth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga needed four sets to get past his countryman Julien Benneteau but Argentina's Juan Monaco beat the Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in three and the Serbian fourth seed Djokovic, Argentina's fifth seed Del Potro, Spain's Tommy Robredo, Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber and France's Gael Monfils also went through with ease.