FRENCH OPEN NOTEBOOK

Sharapova’s groove: Maria Sharapova figures there’s no reason she should keep coming up short on the French Open clay. Sharapova began another bid Tuesday for the only Grand Slam title missing from her resume, beating qualifier Ksenia Pervak 6-3, 6-2. “I think I have a great game for the clay,” said Sharapova, who is 24-7 at Roland Garros but has yet to make a final. “If I play aggressive in the way I play, I’m certainly moving a lot better than I did, say, four or five years ago. I can play longer matches. I don’t get as tired. It’s a matter of doing it.” Sharapova is seeded 12th in a draw considered wide open. She missed time this season with a right elbow injury, but won a clay-court tuneup at Strasbourg last weekend. The 6-foot-2 Sharapova started slowly against the 5-foot-7 Pervak, an 18-year-old Russian making her debut in the main draw of a major. “Took me awhile to get going and just to get my groove,” Sharapova said. “She was half my size and she was hitting twice as hard as me. I knew I was doing something wrong. I started playing solid and changed a few things around. Went well after that.” Sharapova had won 24 consecutive first-round matches at Grand Slams until being upset at that stage at the Australian Open in January. Now she’s starting a new streak.

Williams’ win in doubles: Venus and Serena Williams won their first-round doubles match, dropping only one game. The top-seeded Americans beat Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium and Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand 6-0, 6-1, on Tuesday. The Williams sisters are seeking their 12th Grand Slam doubles title together and fourth in a row. They won the French Open doubles championship in 1999. Both had a day off in singles, where Serena is seeded No. 1, and Venus is No. 2.

Associated Press