Ana Ivanovic used her champion's instinct on Sunday as she was made to sweat for more than two hours by a little-known Italian who had never won a French Open match. While Ivanovic barely resembled the player crowned queen of Roland Garros 12 months ago, Andy Murray looked every inch a seasoned claycourt campaigner during a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 first-round demolition of Argentine dangerman Juan Ignacio Chela.
Rafael Nadal had expected to race to a record fifth successive French Open title before Roger Federer cast a shadow over the Spaniard's Roland Garros prospects.
"Coming into the clay season I'm really just trying to enjoy myself. I've been struggling the last few years on this surface a lot, more than on the others," Mauresmo said ahead of the season's second major, which begins on Sunday.
Fourth-ranked Carlos Alcaraz and Norway's world number seven Casper Ruud also have a shot at top spot.
Argentina's former world number three Guillermo Coria has quit tennis at the age of 27 because he has lost motivation.
Roger Federer will face World No 1 Rafael Nadal in the final of the French Open after the Swiss beat Serbian Novak Djokovic 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 in the semifinal of the French Open on Friday.
Indian Davis Cupper Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi squandered a one-set lead as they went down fighting to top-ranked American pair of Bob and Mike Bryan in the quarter-finals of the men's doubles at the French Open in Paris on Wednesday.
Maria Sharapova and Li Na set up a French Open semi-final clash of styles after Russian elegance and Chinese determination powered them past their last-eight opponents on Wednesday.
Rafael Nadal was not taking his fifth Monte Carlo Masters title as a guarantee of success at the French Open even though he has followed up his previous wins in the principality with victory at Roland Garros.
A gale force in the shape of Roger Federer blew aside local favourite Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 on a blustery Tuesday at the French Open as the Swiss set up a mouth-watering French Open semi-final with Novak Djokovic.
Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in the Monte Carlo Masters final on Sunday to become the first man to win the claycourt tournament five times in succession.
'I'm very privileged to be in the second week of Wimbledon again. This is genuinely one of my favourite weeks of the year so to be prolonging my stay is a lot of fun but I'm looking forward to the challenge.'
World number one Rafa Nadal acclaimed Novak Djokovic as the man to beat at the French Open after losing to the Serbian in straight sets on clay for the second time in a week at the Rome Masters on Sunday.
The WTA Tour has criticised French Open organisers for awarding more prize money to the men competitors
Novak Djokovic enjoyed success at his own tennis centre when he won the Belgrade Open with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Slovakian Alex Molcan in Saturday's final.
Sunday's final was an intense contest as nerves played their part, with 10 of the 22 games going against serve.
Novak Djokovic has suffered more than his fair share of heartache against Rafael Nadal at the French Open but Sunday's final offers him a chance to dethrone the claycourt king.
Djokovic will next face Cypriot 10th seed Marcos Baghdatis for a place in the semi-finals.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2022 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Wednesday.
The Belgian dished out a painful 6-1 6-2 lesson to Serbian school student Ana Ivanovic to become the first woman since tennis turned professional in 1968 to win back-to-back Roland Garros crowns without dropping a set.
The world number one crushed Serbia's Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2 in the women's final.
Amitabh and Abhishek watch Fedex -- also known as the Greatest Tennis Player currently on the planet -- defeat Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the quarter-final and enter the semi-final of the Grand Slam event.
Germans Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber stunned third seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy 6-3, 6-0 at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel.
World number one Roger Federer, chasing the only Grand Slam title to elude him so far, faces gritty Spaniard Tommy Robredo.
Lucie Safarova ensured that Mauresmo's prayers went unanswered by humbling her 6-3, 7-6 in the third round.
Meanwhile, Mahesh Bhupathi and Radek Stepanek from the Czech Republic advanced to the third round, beating Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Filippo Volandri of Italy.
Indian ace Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles's final appearance at last week's Madrid Masters has booked the duo a berth in the season-ending prestigious Tennis Masters Cup to be held in Shanghai next month. The top seven teams in the ATP doubles race apart from Roland Garros winners Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and Luis Horna of Peru would compete in the event.
A retractable roof to deal with capricious skies is a necessity but it will probably not be ready before the 2011 tournament.
Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo recovered from a sluggish start to beat Uzbekistan's Varvara Lepchenko 6-4 6-1 and reach the third round of the Strasbourg Open on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old Korda, son of 1992 runner-up Petr, had enjoyed a dream run in his first Tour-level event on clay and was up against his idol -- the man he named his cat after.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion shared some tips for alleviating sinus pain and getting on with an active lifestyle.
Jana Novotna, who lifted the Wimbledon title 26 years ago in 1988, tragically died in 2017 following a battle with ovarian cancer aged 49.
The American duo won 5-7, 6-1, 13-11 as they added the season-ending crown to the Wimbledon and US Open titles.
Stefanos Tsitsipas won 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 to book his place in the French Open final on Friday.
The Indo-Czech pair defeated Spaniards Oscar Hernandez and Albert Montanes, 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-4 in first round at the US Open.
Images from Day 12 of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Thursday.
The fifth seeded German did not let up and another break confirmed the win in two hours and 40 minutes.
The world No 1 has lost too much ground this year. Wimbledon may see him salvage pride.
By winning the Queen's title, Rafael Nadal showed that he would continue to stalk Roger Federer for the next three weeks.
New world number one Ana Ivanovic has pulled out of next week's Eastbourne grasscourt tournament with a muscle injury.
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