Journalism of Courage
In a blow to India’s medal hopes at the London Olympics,Sania Mirza crashed out of the women doubles in the first round. World No.10 Sania,partnering American Bethanie Mattek-Sands,needed to stay in top-10 before the June 11 cut-off mark for a direct entry into the doubles draw at Olympics.
Retaining her spot in the top-10 would not only have ensured Sania a place in the main draw at London but also given her a shot in the mixed doubles. And for that,she needed to defend 1400 points at the Roland Garros,where she was a finalist last year. Only a top-10 player can choose his/her partner at the Olympics. But Tuesdays 3-6 6-4 5-7 defeat to Nina Bratchikova of Russia and Edina Gallovits-Hall of Romania means Sania will now have to rely on a wild card entry in the singles draw,for which the All India Tennis Association (AITA) has already applied.
Rafael Nadal began his quest for a record seventh French Open title in style,wearing a pink shirt and pink shoelaces. And he won easily too.
The second-seeded Spaniard had little trouble on Tuesday against Simone Bolelli of Italy,winning 6-2 6-2 6-1. Maria Sharapova was as perfect,winning all 12 games to produce a double bagel. And Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova advanced by beating junior Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty 6-1 6-2.
Nadal improved his record to 46-1 at Roland Garros. His only loss came in the fourth round in 2009,against Robin Soderling. Against Bolelli,Nadal made only 18 unforced errors,fewer than half as many as his opponent. From 2-2 in the first set,Nadal won eight straight games to take control. And after a short blip in the second set,Nadal won eight of the last nine games. Fourth-seeded Andy Murray also advanced,beating Tatsuma Ito of Japan 6-1 7-5 6-0.
Sharapova routed Alexandra Cadantu of Romania 6-0 6-0,needing just 48 minutes to advance. She finished the match with 18 winners,while Cadantu had zero,but had to save three break points. Kvitova lost the opening game against 16-year-old Barty but then won six straight in the first set and again raced through the second set despite being broken once. The oldest player in the draw,41-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan,lost to 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-3 6-1. Sixth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain and No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia also advanced.
