Jankovic advances to 2nd round at French Open

PARIS — Jelena Jankovic dominated her opponent before a two-hour rain delay Tuesday, and then did well enough after it to advance to the second round of the French Open by beating Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3. The fifth-seeded Jankovic was leading 4-1 when the rain started at Roland Garros. She quickly closed out the first set when play resumed and continued to play well on Cetkovska's serve in the second but was broken twice on her own. While serving for the match, Jankovic again struggled and was forced to save break points before finally winning. Jankovic finished last season as the top-ranked player on the women's tour, but the 24-year-old Serb is still looking to win her first Grand Slam singles title after losing in the final of last year's U.S. Open. Seventh-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova also advanced, defeating Claire Feuerstein of France 6-1, 6-4. The 2004 U.S. Open champion also dominated before the rain started falling, leading 5-1. Later Tuesday, second-seeded Serena Williams was scheduled to play, while No. 4 Novak Djokovic and No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro were to play on the men's side. On Monday, Roger Federer was back on center court and standing in a pile of the same red clay on which he has lost the last three French Open finals. This time, however, he looked mighty comfortable. The second-seeded Swiss easily advanced to the second round by beating Alberto Martin of Spain 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, joining four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal. "I didn't even think about last year's match on the same court, because I was so much concentrated," said Federer, who has 13 major titles to his name but none from the French Open. "I wanted to do my best. I didn't want to lose my first match." No problem there. The former top-ranked player was broken only once as his serve appeared to be working in the heat of Paris — something that suited Federer well. "It was nice conditions, not too much wind," Federer said. "Little warm, so it was good." Nadal broke the French Open men's record for consecutive wins by beating Marcos Daniel of Brazil 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 for his 29th straight win at Roland Garros. Dinara Safina, the top-seeded player in the women's draw, advanced along with No. 3 Venus Williams and unseeded Maria Sharapova. Federer came into the French Open with an upset win over Nadal on clay at the Madrid Open two weeks ago, and he said he was just hoping to get through to the second round at Roland Garros. "Now I can focus. I can unwind for a while," Federer said. "I have less pressure, because the pressure is when you have to manage the first round." Nadal's win over Daniel bettered the French Open record held by Bjorn Borg, who won 28 straight from 1978-81. Nadal also equaled the overall tournament record, matching the 29 straight that Chris Evert won between 1974-75 and 1979-81. Evert did not play at the French Open from 1976-78. Nadal was broken three times by Daniel, but the top-seeded Spaniard remained perfect at the French Open as he tries to become the first player to win five straight titles at Roland Garros. "Roland Garros always is difficult," Nadal said. "But the important thing is be with (a) positive mentality and try to win, no? ... I won in three sets. That's important." – AP