NOTEBOOK \ French Open

Henin not happy: Justine Henin was thrown off her game by starting her French Open title defense on a Sunday. “It’s strange. I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Henin said after beating Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-4, 6-3. “It breaks our habits. Everyone’s a bit lost.” Henin also had to wait more than five hours to play because of a rain delay. “It was so crowded at the players’ cafeteria, men and women everywhere, overcrowded,” Henin said. “That’s what I hate about the start of a Grand Slam. You’re not really at ease. You can’t really be in a peaceful place.” Henin also was unhappy with the string tension of her racket and hit some loose forehands. She lost two straight service games at the end of the first set and beginning of the second. “Winning today is all that counts,” the two-time defending champion said. She was pleased with the center-court crowd, even though the stands were about half empty. “I got a great reception,” Henin said. “And that warms the heart. That’s a positive thing for me today.” Henin next plays Wednesday against 16-year-old Tamira Paszek of Austria.

Marat’s crystal ball: Marat Safin predicts another Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal final at the French Open. “Nobody can come close to beating them on clay, especially here,” said Safin, a semifinalist at Roland Garros in 2002. “A tough call who’s going to win this year, Roger or Nadal.” Nadal has beaten Federer five times out of six on clay, including in last year’s final. But Federer beat the Spaniard 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the Hamburg Masters final this month, ending his clay-court record winning streak at 81 matches. Safin and younger sister Dinara Safina both won first-round matches Sunday.

Waiting game: The rain was strictly an annoyance to Tamira Paszek. She was close to beating Aiko Nakamura of Japan. Dinara Safina was glad for the break. She was trailing Yuliana Fedak 4-2 in the second set. “I was struggling,” Safina said. “I could think about what I was doing wrong.” When the rain ended, Safina won the next four games and downed Fedak 7-5, 6-4. Although Paszek easily beat Nakamura 6-4, 6-0, the Austrian was irritated by the circumstances surrounding the suspension of her match just after midday — she needed to win one more game. “The supervisor, Nakamura, and me ... we all decided we wanted to stay on court,” Paszek said. “Suddenly, all the guys who prepare the court came on and just covered the court. We had to go off.” When Paszek got back to her locker room, she got another surprise when she looked at the TV. “I saw [Marat] Safin was still playing,” she said. “We stopped the match 20 minutes before the end of the other matches, which wasn’t easy for me. I had to wait five hours in the locker room.”

Associated Press