Safina surges into third round

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:30

The world number one needed just 54 minutes to claim a 6-1 6-1 victory against an opponent ranked 153 in the world.

Safina will face either 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Frenchwoman Julie Coin in the next round.

Diatchenko, making her first appearance at the French Open, was tested to the full by Mathilde Johansson in her first-round match where she eventually prevailed 10-8 in the final set.

In contrast, Safina enjoyed an easy 6-0 6-0 win over Britain’s Anne Keothavong in her opening match.

And last year’s beaten finalist was quickly into her stride today on Suzanne Lenglen court, with breaks in the second and fourth games allowing Safina to open up a 5-0 lead over her Russian compatriot.

Diatchenko managed to hold serve for the first time in game six but Safina responded to claim the opening set in just 28 minutes.

Safina’s game was far from flawless, having made the same number of unforced errors as her opponent at that stage, and a stuttering start to the second set saw the pair exchange breaks in the opening two games.

But the top seed regained her composure and, with more and more wayward shots creeping into Diatchenko’s game, it was plain sailing from then on for Safina.

Further breaks in games three and five helped Safina take a 5-1 lead, and she wrapped up the result after taking the second of two match points on Diatchenko’s serve.

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