Henin wins first-round match at Indian Wells
Friday, 12 March 2010
INDIAN WELLS, California, Mar 11 (AP): Justin Henin beat Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open Wednesday, her first competitive match since a surprising run to the Australian Open final in January.
"It was a very good feeling. This is a tournament I like a lot," said Henin, who will meet Gisela Dulko of Argentina in the second round. "It's been a break of one month with no competition so I was glad the way I went into the match today. Not everything was perfect, but I found a pretty good rhythm and felt I could go a lot to the net and I felt really good on the court, actually."
Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova is in the top half with former champions Kim Clijsters (2003, 2005), Daniela Hantuchova (2002, 2007), Ana Ivanovic (2008) and Vera Zvonareva (2009).
Also moving into the second round on Wednesday were Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Tathiana Garbin of Italy; Vera Dushevina of Russia, with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Jelena Dokic of Australia; Olga Govortsova of Belarus, who beat Czech Iveta Benesova, 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (8); Alicia Molik of Australia, with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Tatjana Malek of Germany; Peng Shuai of China, who outlasted Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4; Sorana Cirstea of Romania, who ousted Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4; and American Jill Craybas, a 6-0, 7-5 winner over Eleni Daniilidou of Greece.
"It was a very good feeling. This is a tournament I like a lot," said Henin, who will meet Gisela Dulko of Argentina in the second round. "It's been a break of one month with no competition so I was glad the way I went into the match today. Not everything was perfect, but I found a pretty good rhythm and felt I could go a lot to the net and I felt really good on the court, actually."
Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova is in the top half with former champions Kim Clijsters (2003, 2005), Daniela Hantuchova (2002, 2007), Ana Ivanovic (2008) and Vera Zvonareva (2009).
Also moving into the second round on Wednesday were Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Tathiana Garbin of Italy; Vera Dushevina of Russia, with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Jelena Dokic of Australia; Olga Govortsova of Belarus, who beat Czech Iveta Benesova, 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (8); Alicia Molik of Australia, with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Tatjana Malek of Germany; Peng Shuai of China, who outlasted Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4; Sorana Cirstea of Romania, who ousted Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4; and American Jill Craybas, a 6-0, 7-5 winner over Eleni Daniilidou of Greece.