Ana Ivanovic Rolls In First Round Of Roland Garros 2012; Venus Williams Stumbles Early, Turns It On Late

Ana Ivanovic

Former Roland Garros champion Ana Ivanovic opened her 2012 campaign on the terre battue with an easy 6-1 6-1 victory over qualifier Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino.The former world #1 has been playing much better lately after a prolonged slump in recent years. She still is looking for a big win over a top player at a Major. Next up for Ana is Shahar Peer. Peer is a very good player capable of upsetting Ivanovic, so Ana better not get caught looking ahead in the draw.

Venus Williams

Another former world #1, Venus Williams, had a much tougher time with Argentine teenager Paula Ormaechea. Venus dropped the first set to the hard-hitting Ormaechea before storming back to win, 4-6 6-1 6-3. I was very impressed with the young Argentine. She hit a lot bigger than I expected and seemingly plays a fearless game. She just needs experience. There were times she went for winners maybe a shot or two before it was open. She needs a little more patience in rallies. For Venus, the final two sets were impressive, but she can’t afford to let herself get down if she faces world #3 Agnieszka Radwanska in her next match.

Singles – First Round
(6) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. Elena Baltacha (GBR) 64 60
(10) Angelique Kerber (GER) d. (Q) Zhang Shuai (CHN) 63 64
(13) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. (Q) Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino (ESP) 61 61
(20) Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. Anastasiya Yakimova (BLR) 62 60
(21) Sara Errani (ITA) d. Casey Dellacqua (AUS) 46 62 62
(26) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d. Mirjana Lucic (CRO) 61 63
María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) d. (Q) Eva Birnerova (CZE) 46 64 86
Venus Williams (USA) d. Paula Ormaechea (ARG) 46 61 63
Shahar Peer (ISR) d. Stéphanie Dubois (CAN) 62 62
Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) d. (Q) Heidi El Tabakh (CAN) 75 62
Mathilde Johansson (FRA) d. Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 57 76(6) 64
Irina Falconi (USA) d. Edina Gallovits-Hall (ROU) 36 63 61
(Q) Alexa Glatch (USA) d. Anna Tatishvili (GEO) 63 57 64
(Q) Dinah Pfizenmaier (GER) d. (WC) Caroline Garcia (FRA) 36 64 63
(WC) Irena Pavlovic (FRA) d. Chang Kai-Chen (TPE) 64 75
(WC) Melanie Oudin (USA) d. Johanna Larsson (SWE) 63 63

ANA IVANOVIC

SAMANTHA STOSUR

ANGELIQUE KERBER

LUCIE SAFAROVA

SARA ERRANI

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA

VENUS WILLIAMS

SHAHAR PEER

PAULA ORMAECHEA