Henin makes winning return to grass
Source: Agencies |
June 16, 2010, Wednesday
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TOP-SEEDED Justine Henin made a successful return to grass after a three-year absence by beating Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-2 on Monday in the first round of the Unicef Open in Den Bosch, Netherlands.
Henin's last match on the surface was a defeat in the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2007 but she was a comfortable winner over Kerber at a tournament she won in 2001 and was runnerup two years later.
The Belgian player, who resumed her career in January after spending 20 months in retirement, accepted a wildcard to tune up for Wimbledon, which begins a week on Monday and remains the only grand slam event she has never won.
Serbia's Ana Ivanovic recovered from a slow start to beat Sofia Arvidsson 4-6, 6-0, 6-1, while third-seeded Maria Kirilenko eased past Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-4, 6-1.
Fifth-seeded Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania struggled to hold off French qualifier Julie Coin, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), and Dutch wildcard Arantxa Rus eliminated No. 8-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
On the men's side, Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands ousted compatriot and sixth-seeded Thiemo de Bakker 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) and Belgium's Xavier Malisse defeated Rajeev Ram of the United States 6-3, 6-2. Ram had come into the draw as a lucky loser after replacing fifth-seeded Philipp Petzschner, who withdrew with a hip injury.
France's Arnaud Clement defeated Simon Stadler of Germany, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 and Henri Kontinen of Finland beat Jamaican qualifier Dustin Brown 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (5).
Struggled
In Eastbourne, England, Australia's Samantha Stosur, playing for the first time since her defeat by Francesca Schiavone in the French Open final, struggled to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over American Melanie Oudin at the Aegon International.
Oudin, who beat Jelena Jankovic and reached the fourth round as a qualifier at Wimbledon last year, dropped the opening set after conceding her serve at 2-2 on a forehand error.
Stosur struggled at the start of the second set, hitting five double-faults after breaking to lead 1-0. She dropped the next four games and faced a break point for 1-5 that she saved with an ace before staging a fightback.
The Australian struck three aces as she leveled at 4-4, and hit a winning volley at the net to break for 5-4 before serving out for the match.
Eighth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France also struggled, eventually overcoming Russia's Vera Dushevina 6-4, 7-5.
Playing his first match since March, Gilles Simon of France claimed his first victory of the season by outlasting Russia's Evgeny Korolev 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4.
American James Blake, who has dropped to No. 110 following a similar injury and absence from the tour, failed to match Simon on his comeback and was beaten 7-6 (3), 7-5 by fourth-seeded Julien Benneteau of France.
Henin's last match on the surface was a defeat in the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2007 but she was a comfortable winner over Kerber at a tournament she won in 2001 and was runnerup two years later.
The Belgian player, who resumed her career in January after spending 20 months in retirement, accepted a wildcard to tune up for Wimbledon, which begins a week on Monday and remains the only grand slam event she has never won.
Serbia's Ana Ivanovic recovered from a slow start to beat Sofia Arvidsson 4-6, 6-0, 6-1, while third-seeded Maria Kirilenko eased past Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-4, 6-1.
Fifth-seeded Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania struggled to hold off French qualifier Julie Coin, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), and Dutch wildcard Arantxa Rus eliminated No. 8-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
On the men's side, Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands ousted compatriot and sixth-seeded Thiemo de Bakker 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) and Belgium's Xavier Malisse defeated Rajeev Ram of the United States 6-3, 6-2. Ram had come into the draw as a lucky loser after replacing fifth-seeded Philipp Petzschner, who withdrew with a hip injury.
France's Arnaud Clement defeated Simon Stadler of Germany, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 and Henri Kontinen of Finland beat Jamaican qualifier Dustin Brown 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (5).
Struggled
In Eastbourne, England, Australia's Samantha Stosur, playing for the first time since her defeat by Francesca Schiavone in the French Open final, struggled to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over American Melanie Oudin at the Aegon International.
Oudin, who beat Jelena Jankovic and reached the fourth round as a qualifier at Wimbledon last year, dropped the opening set after conceding her serve at 2-2 on a forehand error.
Stosur struggled at the start of the second set, hitting five double-faults after breaking to lead 1-0. She dropped the next four games and faced a break point for 1-5 that she saved with an ace before staging a fightback.
The Australian struck three aces as she leveled at 4-4, and hit a winning volley at the net to break for 5-4 before serving out for the match.
Eighth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France also struggled, eventually overcoming Russia's Vera Dushevina 6-4, 7-5.
Playing his first match since March, Gilles Simon of France claimed his first victory of the season by outlasting Russia's Evgeny Korolev 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4.
American James Blake, who has dropped to No. 110 following a similar injury and absence from the tour, failed to match Simon on his comeback and was beaten 7-6 (3), 7-5 by fourth-seeded Julien Benneteau of France.
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