FRENCH OPEN Sharapova has tough opener

She was one point from losing to Mashona Washington before rallying.
PARIS (AP) -- Maria Sharapova's ankle was throbbing, her shots were off-target, and she was one point from losing to Mashona Washington in the French Open's first round.
What rankled Sharapova the most, though, after she overcame three match points to beat the 97th-ranked American 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, was that she was playing at all.
This was, after all, the first Grand Slam tournament to start on a Sunday instead of Monday, a bid to sell more tickets, reach a larger TV audience and promote the game.
The first round is being stretched over three days, and Sharapova wanted a Day 2 debut because of her health, the sort of request tennis players often make -- and often are granted.
The 2004 Wimbledon champion hadn't played since April 1, sidelined by an injured right ankle that was retaped after the second set against Washington, younger sister of 1996 Wimbledon runner-up MaliVai.
Asked to play later
"I asked if I could play later. The answer was, 'You're playing Sunday, fourth match,"' the fourth-seeded Sharapova said.
"How did it make me feel? Well, it doesn't make you feel great when you know that the French federation, all they're thinking about is selling tickets, making money and about their players. I mean, can't be too happy about that."
Roger Federer wasn't pleased to be playing, either, although his attitude was more akin to someone called in to work when he expected to relax on a day off.
Aiming to win his fourth straight Grand Slam title, something no man has done since Rod Laver in 1969, Federer got off to a poor start before eventually putting together a 7-5, 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory against Diego Hartfield.
Consider yourself a tennis fan but not all that familiar with Mr. Hartfield? Don't feel bad. Neither was the top-ranked Federer. Not at all.
"I never heard of his name. Never seen him before," said Federer, who's won the other majors at least twice each but has yet to win the French Open.
"First time I saw him was five minutes before the match."
So much for a scouting report. Hartfield, an Argentine ranked 156th and playing in his first tour-level match, toils in tennis' minor leagues and had to go through qualifying to get into the French Open.
Jumped out on Federer
Yet, by going for broke on most shots, Hartfield raced to a 3-0, 40-15 lead, the last point in that stretch coming when Federer shanked a forehand off the racket frame, the ball landing at his feet.
Waiting for Hartfield's next serve, Federer stood at the baseline, adjusted his headband and, he said later, thought: "Try not to panic."
On the next point, Hartfield wound up for a big forehand but slapped it into the net.
Then, he missed a forehand.
And then, a backhand, giving Federer a break point.
When Federer hit a volley that caught the line -- Hartfield argued the ball was out, to no avail -- it was 3-1.
It was tight for the rest of the first set and into the tiebreaker, when Federer turned it on, placing consecutive winners on the line before ending the set with two ferocious forehands.
"It was obvious that I wasn't going to win," said Hartfield, treated for cramps early in the third set.
"The important thing was to enjoy it."
Scrambling point
On one late point, Federer's lob sent Hartfield scrambling back from the net. He tried to hit a swinging volley on the move, but whiffed, spinning all the way around. Still chasing the ball, his back to the net, Hartfield swatted the ball between his legs and over the net. Federer tapped away a winner, and both players smiled.
"One day, I will tell my grandkids that I played against the No. 1 player in the world," Hartfield said. "He was my favorite player before, but when I found out I was playing him, he stopped being my favorite player."
No. 5 Andy Roddick (ankle) and No. 14 Lleyton Hewitt (calf) -- on the bottom half of the draw, opposite Federer -- were given delayed starts.