Russian Dinara Safina upset French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the opening round of the Pilot Pen tennis tournament on Monday. Safina's win came less than a week after she lost in straight sets to Schiavone in Montreal. She has been hampered all year by a back injury
"When you lose a match and you say, 'God, I wish I could replay this match to play one more time to do the things different,"' she said. "And I got this chance to play (Schiavone) here." Nadia Petrova of Russia rallied to beat Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 1-6, 7-5, 6-1. Petrova was a late addition to the field after an ankle injury forced Ana Ivanovic to withdraw. "It's been actually, an amazing opportunity, because I feel like I need a few matches before the U.S. Open," Petrova said. Russia's Elena Dementieva almost missed the start of her first-round match and had to be tracked down on the practice courts. She then went out and beat Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.
"Yesterday, we were waiting more than 10 hours, practicing indoors, expecting to be playing today indoors," she said. "I feel lucky to be second on and finish the match."
{{/usCountry}}"Yesterday, we were waiting more than 10 hours, practicing indoors, expecting to be playing today indoors," she said. "I feel lucky to be second on and finish the match."
{{/usCountry}}U.S. teenager Melanie Oudin lost 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 to lucky loser Dominka Cibulkova of Slovakia. Oudin, 18, was hoping to get in a few more matches before heading back to the US Open, where she became America's darling last year with a run to the quarterfinals. In the men's draw, two-time Pilot Pen champion James Blake, who grew up in nearby Fairfield, beat Pere Riba of Spain 6-0, 6-1 in just 35 minutes - the fastest completed match on the ATP Tour this season.
"I tend to always play fast," Blake said. "The wins end up being a lot quicker; the losses end up being quicker too." Fellow American Donald Young also had an easy first round, beating Stephane Robert of France 6-1, 6-2.
Monday's late night feature pitted Dinara Safina against French Open champion Francesca Schiavone.
Cibulkova moves on to face two-time defending champion Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the second round. Wozniacki was still in Montreal on Monday, where she played two matches, winning the rain-delayed Rogers Cup 6-3, 6-2 over Vera Zvonareva.