french open roundup \ News and notes
Blake bows out early, again: There are plenty of theories about why U.S. men have so much trouble at the French Open, and James Blake offered his thoughts on the matter after losing in the first round Tuesday. “For the Americans, a lot of times, this isn’t our main goal of the year. Ours is generally Wimbledon and the U.S. Open,” Blake said. “I think if we were to try to prepare completely for the French Open, we would be giving away some of our advantage at the Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. That’s where we excel. We’d rather, I think, prepare best for what our strengths are.” The 15th-seeded Blake was eliminated 7-6 (6), 7-5, 6-2 by Leonardo Mayer, a qualifier from Argentina making his Grand Slam debut. Both other American men in action Tuesday lost, too: No. 22 Mardy Fish and unseeded Bobby Reynolds. That made the U.S. contingent 2-7 in the first round this year, with No. 6 Andy Roddick and Robert Kendrick the only winners.
French hopes: Frenchmen looking for the first local champion since Yannick Noah in 1983 have pinned their hopes on rising stars Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils. Both won Tuesday — and for 2008 Australian Open runner-up Tsonga, it was his first victory at Roland Garros. He beat another Frenchman, Julien Benneteau, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Tsonga’s first match in the tournament since 2005. “It’s a relief,” said Tsonga, who lost in the first round four years ago, was ranked too low the next two years, then pulled out last year with a knee injury.
Young and learning: The youngest player in the women’s field went to overtime in her French Open debut before losing. France’s 16-year-old Kristina Mladenovic came close to reaching the second round but was eliminated by Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 2-6, 8-6 on Tuesday. “Well, I’m only 16, so each match is full of things that I need to learn,” Mladenovic said. “So I’m disappointed because I lost. But this is something that I learned and something I’ll use for the future.” Mladenovic had a hard time dealing with Tuesday’s rain delay. “I tried to manage that as well as I could,” she said, “but I don’t have much experience.”
Associated Press
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