Sharapova survives 1st round at French Open

Maria Sharapova is relieved today after winning her 1st round match against Ksenia Pervak, 6-3, 6-2 during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris.

It was an all-Russian match, pitting No. 12 seed Maria of Nyagan, Russia against unseeded Ksenia of Chelyabinsk, Russia. Ksenia came out determined, and Maria came out a little shaky, resulting in Maria losing her first service game. Ksenia then held to go up 2-0, but Maria began hitting out on her shots and got grooved in, looking more like her old self.

Defending Champion Zvonareva Seeded No 1 at PTT Pattaya Women’s Open

No. 14 ranked Vera Zvonareva of Russia has received the top seed of the WTA PTT Pattaya Women’s Open which started Feb. 7 in Pattaya City, Thailand. She is the defending champion of the tournament.

Zvonareva slipped out of the Top 10 last week after failing to repeat her run to the semis of the 2009 Australian Open. The good news for the Russian star is that although she squandered a winning lead against Victoria Azarenka in Melbourne, the ankle that caused her so much trouble last season appeared to be holding up.

In her opening round, she will meet Ksenia Pervak