MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Maria Sharapova had a brief case of the nerves at the Australian Open, thanks to bad memories of a first-round loss last year.
The former No. 1-ranked Sharapova ended up with a relatively comfortable 6-1, 6-3 win over Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn in the first match on center court Monday, but not before losing every point in her opening service game.
The 2008 Australian Open winner blamed the shaky start on her opening match at Melbourne Park last year, when unseeded Maria Kirilenko beat her in the first round. It was Sharapova's worst Gram Slam result since 2003.
I was definitely a little bit nervous,'' Sharapova said.You know, last year I played first match on center and, you know, I lost.''
The nerves didn't last long, with Sharapova winning seven consecutive games after losing the first. Still, it was not all smooth sailing. Sharapova served 10 double faults and nearly found herself down 4-1 in the second set.
The first game definitely wasn't great, and, um, I didn't serve good at all during the match,'' she said.I was just not jumping up. I wasn't moving well. I wasn't really thinking for the first games. ... I started playing better as the match went on.''
Sharapova is working her way back toward the top after a series of injuries. A shoulder injury meant she was unable to defend her 2008 Australian Open title and caused her to drop out of the top 10 in early 2009 for the first time in 4 1/2 years.
Sharapova, who won the first of her three majors at age 17 at Wimbledon in 2004, admitted to some frustration at having to rebuild her game after her injury layoff.
Listen, I wish I could be No. 1 in the world today, last year, right when I came back,'' she said.But I think everything is a process, you know. It really is.''
GAEL FORCE WIN: Experience can make all the difference in the supercharged atmosphere of a Grand Slam. Just ask Gael Monfils.
The 12th-seeded Frenchman was two sets and a break down and Thiemo de Bakker was serving for the match in the third when the Dutchman started to get tight, losing 16 of the next 19 games to hand Monfils a 6-7 (5), 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 first-round win.
Monfils, who played a key role in getting France to the Davis Cup final last year, earlier looked like the player who was unraveling. He smashed his racket after missing a shot during the third set, and lay prone on the court for a few seconds after overreaching in another point.
Monfils said that when the pressure was toughest, he banished negative thoughts and concentrated on doing the simple things.
I tried just to make him struggle a bit and tried to make him own the win,'' Monfils said.That was the key. I think he got tighter and then started to struggle physically.''
By the start of the fourth set, de Bakker, the former junior world champion who played his first full ATP season last year, was looking tired, missing shots and dropping games.
I saw he was tanking,'' Monfils said.I was kind of surprised. But I know Thiemo a bit. I know sometime he snaps in the head. So this is like a strong belief. We know like he can snap. It's a weakness for him. So you play with that.''
SWEET SONG: Good times never felt so good for Caroline Wozniacki.
The 20-year-old Dane is riding high after winning six tournaments last year. She made a promising start Monday to the Australian Open, her first major as the No. 1-ranked player.
Perhaps it's no surprise that Neil Diamond's classic ``Sweet Caroline'' is on Wozniacki's playlist - even if it was a hit 21 years before she was born.
They played it quite a few times in the U.S. when I have been going on and off the court,'' Wozniacki told reporters.It's a good song. I like it.''
Enough to upload into her phone.
``Not as my ring tone, but in my music library, yeah,'' she said.
The song became a standard of Diamond's stadium shows in the 1970s. These days, it's become part of the soundtrack in some sports venues in the United States, including Boston's Fenway Park, where it is played during the seventh-inning stretch of each baseball game.