* Serena needs nine match points to progress
* Djokovic into next round after Lapentti retires
By Pritha Sarkar
PARIS, May 26 (Reuters) - An almighty roar shook Roland
Garros on Tuesday to mark the moment Serena Williams scrapped
and clawed her way into the second round of the French Open.
The world number two was left a breathless wreck as Klara
Zakopalova teased and tormented the American by saving eight
match points in a theatrical display on Suzanne Lenglen Court.
After almost two-and-a-half hours of high drama, Williams
finally subdued the plucky challenge of the Czech 6-3 6-7 6-4.
"I feel very disappointed. She's Serena. She's one of the
biggest players here, so bad luck for the draw," warned
Zakopalova.
While Williams made sure she did not become the first
big-name casualty in Paris, Novak Djokovic got an easy ride into
the last 64 when his opponent Nicolas Lapentti hobbled off court
with an ankle injury. Djokovic was leading 6-3 3-1.
Djokovic's fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic and Russian Svetlana
Kuznetsova dodged rain showers to book their place in round two.
Twenty four hours after the scorching conditions in Paris
had left many players hot and bothered, temperatures had dipped
by more than 15 degrees Celsius after overnight thunderstorms.
Instead of using her red and white towel to wipe sweat off
her face, Jankovic used it as a blanket around her shoulders in
the changeovers and seemed relieved to go back to the warmth of
the locker room with a 6-2 6-3 win over Czech Petra Cetkovska.
"I felt a little bit slow after the rain delay when I came
back on court again. But I managed to finish the job in two
sets, so I'm happy," said the fifth seed.
Kuznetsova also had to endure a two-hour rain break in the
first set but she made sure she did not slip up on resumption
and bamboozled French wildcard Claire Feuerstein 6-1 6-4.
By the time Williams stepped out, Roland Garros was bathed
in glorious sunshine but the American soon discovered that she
would not be allowed to enjoy a leisurely afternoon stroll.
28-STROKE RALLY
Zakopalova had beaten Williams in Marbella last month and
clearly wanted to mete out more punishment on the 10-times grand
slam champion who had not won a match on red dirt in 2009.
Trailing 5-3 in the second set, Zakopalova ignored her
status as the world's 100th best player and showed nerves of
steel to save five match points.
Clubbing forehand winners all over the court, Zakopalova
came out on top in a 28-stroke rally which had even Williams's
mum applauding from the stands. That only added to her
daughter's growing frustration, especially as she ended up
relinquishing the set 7-5 in the tiebreak.
Sixty two minutes after squandering her first series of
match points, Williams earned another three while leading 5-2 in
the decider.
These too disappeared into the gusting winds swirling around
the court but three games later, Zakopalova's resolve finally
cracked, leaving a jubilant Williams to bounce around as she
deafened the cheering fans.
Men's fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro seemed in a hurry to
finish his match before the rain returned and stamped all over
French hopes in a 6-3 6-3 6-1 win over Michael Llodra.
Former Australian Open finalist Rainer Schuettler, however,
wished the rain had never stopped.
Four days after being walloped 6-0 6-0 in the World Team Cup
by Sweden's Robin Soderling, he had to digest some more bagels.
As the German edged close to becoming the first man since
1993 to lose a grand slam match without winning a game, he
suddenly woke up to avoid the rout. He still lost 6-0 6-0 6-4 to
France's Marc Gicquel.
Asked if he felt sorry for his opponent, Gicquel replied: "I
wanted to try to give him three times 6-0. I didn't come here to
sympathise. If I can give him three times 6-0, I will."
Djokovic could, however, sympathise with the plight of
Ecuador's Lapentti's since the Serb himself retired in this
Australia Open quarter-finals.
Grimacing in pain after going over on his left ankle while
trailing 5-2 in the opening set, Lapentti called on the
tournament trainer to strap it up but after limping around court
for another six games, the 32-year-old called it quits.
Men's ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, runner-up in Melbourne
in 2008, registered his first win at his home slam with a 6-4
3-6 6-3 6-4 victory over fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau.
Eleventh seed Gael Monfils also progressed.
(Editing by Sonia Oxley, To query or comment on this story
email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
