Thursday, February 12, 2009

Frenchwomen get business done in Paris

Three of the Open GDF SUEZ second round winners who emerged in Paris today are French--Amelie Maruesmo, Alize Cornet and Nathalie Dechy. Mauresmo defeated Monica Niculescu 6-1, 6-2; Cornet defeated Daniela Hantuchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2; and Nathalie Dechy defeated Patty Schnyder 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Yesterday, Emelie Loit defeatd Kaia Kanepi 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.

I am never happy to see Schnyder defeated, yet I am always glad to see Dechy win. Dechy has an elegant game I like to watch. Following an inury a few years ago, she had trouble getting back into form, so she changed her focus to doubles. She has been quite successful in doubles, but I miss having her in the top 20 in singles.

In 2006, Dechy was number 11 in the world, in fact, and I wish she could have made her way to the top ten. People got to see her at her best during her 2007 Wimbledon match against Ana Ivanovic. That was the match Dechy thought she had won, and then Ivanovic's ball rolled over the net, keeping her in the match, which she eventually won. It was probably the best match of the tournament.

In the meantime, Jelena Jankovic defeated Li Na, something she has done only once before in five previous meetings. The final score was 6-0, 3-6, 6-2.

The other winners were Serena Williams (def. Karolina Sprem), Elena Dementieva (def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova),

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