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ROLAND GARROS: Henin, Hingis and Roddick take to the clay Tuesday

/noticias.info/ By Andrew Bogusch
Monday, May 29, 2006

The opening round of Roland Garros 2006 concludes Tuesday with three Grand Slam winners in action, plus a showdown of young stars…

No5 Andy Roddick (USA) v Alberto Martin (ESP)
Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, has practiced without incident the last two days on the left ankle he sprained last week in Düsseldorf. His coach/brother John says Roddick should be able to take on the veteran Spaniard come Tuesday. Before the injury, Roddick posted a solid quarterfinal finish in Rome, his best European clay result since winning St. Poelten in 2003. Included in that title is a straight-set victory over Martin. Roddick has an impressive 4-0 win-loss record against the gritty Spaniard. The 68-ranked Martin - who won the Roland Garros junior singles title 10 years ago - considers clay his best surface, but surprisingly has never progressed past the second round here. He is coming off consecutive losses in Hamburg and Poertschach, but will nevertheless test Roddick, regardless of how his ankle is feeling.

No25 Gael Monfils (FRA) v Andy Murray (GBR)
In this battle of blossoming stars, Monfils hopes to avenge a straight set loss to the Scottish teenager earlier this month in Hamburg. Monfils blames himself for the loss, saying Murray played "a regular match, nothing more." The French teen also hopes to redeem himself in front of the Parisian crowd after a first round loss here last year in his main draw debut. Murray is also debuting in the main draw, after reaching the semifinals of the junior event last year. Unfortunately, his defeat of Monfils is one of only two wins on clay this Spring for the youngster. Monfils however, has enjoyed more success, making the semifinals in Rome. These two know each other very well from the junior ranks, so this will be a true battle.

No5 Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) v Maret Ani (EST)
Henin-Hardenne begins her title defense against a 24-year-old Estonian making her Roland Garros main draw debut. The Belgian has entered seven tournaments this year and failed to reach at least the semifinals only once. Most recently, in Berlin, she dropped the final to the red hot Nadia Petrova (7-5 in the third set). Ani has posted some quality results in 2006 (SF in Acapulco, round of 16 at Indian Wells), but should provide little resistance to the fifth seed. On paper, the four-time Grand Slam winner seems to have clear sailing until at least the fourth round.

No12 Martina Hingis (SUI) v Lisa Raymond (USA)
Hingis' comeback is the story of the WTA Tour this year and she hopes to add another chapter to it with a fine showing in Paris, starting with Raymond on Tuesday. Hingis leads their head-to-head, 6-1, but their last meeting was four years ago. The Swiss' most recent accomplishment was the Rome title just over a week ago. Hingis beat five seeds en route to the title and lost just one set during the tournament. Raymond arrives in Paris with only one win this year on clay, and that came at Amelia Island last month. The doubles specialist did not play any of the major European tournaments this spring. Much like Henin-Hardenne, Hingis should use this as a warm-up for the tougher competition that awaits in later rounds. notas_de_prensa_archivo