Fancied duo cruise through in Paris

Caroline Wozniacki
12 April 2012

Defending women's champion Francesca Schiavone and top seed Caroline Wozniacki wasted little time reaching the second round of the French Open with thumping wins on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Italian Schiavone, whose win against Samantha Stosur in the final 12 months ago was arguably the high point of a patchy season in women's tennis, needed only 62 minutes to beat Melanie Oudin 6-2 6-0 and confirm she will again be a big threat on the red clay.

Oudin was tipped as the next big star of American tennis when she burst onto the scene in 2009, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon and the quarter-finals at the US Open, but she has failed to build on that promise.

Schiavone next faces Russia's Vesna Dolonts, who edged a three-hour-and-21-minute epic against Anne Keothavong 3-6 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 on Court 16.

Wozniacki, who has now spent more weeks at number one than Venus Williams, is still looking for her first grand slam win but she could not have made a better start, blitzing 40-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm 6-0 6-2.

The Dane won her first clay-court title in Brussels on Saturday with a gruelling victory over Peng Shuai and, although many questioned the wisdom of her decision to play in Belgian capital, she was certainly not physically tested in the opening round at Roland Garros.

Third seed Vera Zvonareva also had an easy time of it against Lourdes Dominguez Lino, winning 6-3 6-3, while on Court 14 Sara Errani staged what could well be the comeback of the tournament. The Italian trailed 18-year-old American Christina McHale 5-0 in the final set before battling back to triumph 6-7 (4/7) 6-2 9-7.

Ninth seed Petra Kvitova, considered one of the title contenders in a very open women's field, was impressive in beating Greta Arn 6-2 6-1, while French hope Marion Bartoli recovered from a terrible first set to beat Anna Tatishvili 1-6 6-2 6-1.

There were also victories for seeds Agnieszka Radwanska, Daniela Hantuchova, Maria Kirilenko, Kaia Kanepi, Roberta Vinci and Peng but 26th seed Nadia Petrova lost to Anastasia Rodionova and 31st seed Klara Zakopalova was dumped out by Chan Yung-jan.

Popular Indian Sania Mirza reached the second round for the first time since 2007 with a 6-3 6-3 win over Kristina Barrois but there was disappointment for home hope Aravane Rezai, who was beaten by Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu.

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