PARIS(AP) Caroline Wozniacki beat the heat and an overmatched opponent Monday in the first round at the French Open.
With temperatures headed into the mid-80s on a second successive cloudless day in Paris, the No. 3-seeded Wozniacki had a morning match on center court and needed barely an hour to dispatch Alla Kudryavtseva 6-0, 6-3.
Doesn't matter if I play five hours or one hour,'' Wozniacki said.As long as I win, I'm happy.''
Wozniacki has been bothered by a sore right ankle since mid-April, and the injury forced her to retire from a match in Warsaw last Thursday, but she said it has much improved since.
It feels pretty good today, actually,'' she said.I've had good support in the tape, so I was really happy about that.''
Wozniacki has played the most tennis of anyone on the women's tour since the start of last year, and she looked sharp, committing only nine unforced errors and missing just 11 first serves. Kudryavtseva lost the first seven games, then won two in a row, but she was unable to stay with Wozniacki in long rallies.
Kudryavtseva changed rackets before the final point, but it was too late. Wozniacki closed out the victory with a service winner, then blew kisses to the crowd.
She said she's glad to be one of the highest-seeded players.
You get to play on the big courts, nice crowd. It's just a great thing,'' Wozniacki said.It means that you have done so well throughout the year and you've done so many good results. I'm just happy when I go on court.''
The women's draw is considered wide open, with Wozniacki among the title contenders. The 19-year-old Dane was the runner-up at last year's U.S. Open to Kim Clijsters and has a 29-12 career record in Grand Slam tournaments.
No. 24 Lucie Safarova also worked quickly, beating Jelena Dokic 6-2, 6-2.
In men's play, unseeded American Taylor Dent won a match at Roland Garros for the first time in his 12-year career, beating Nicolas Lapentti 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3). Dent, a former top-25 player who has been plagued by injuries, entered the tournament only twice before this year.
Fellow American John Isner, seeded 17th, lost only 10 points on his serve, never faced a break point and beat Andrey Golubev 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
No. 20 Stanislas Wawrinka eliminated Jan Hajek 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. In women's play, No. 11 Li Na defeated Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-3.
On Sunday, Venus Williams looked sure-footed on the surface that has vexed her more than any other while defeating Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-3.
Williams improved to 13-2 this year on clay, raising speculation she has a shot to win her first Roland Garros title on her 14th try. But she balked at the notion she has changed her game on slow, slippery clay.
Um, change?'' she said.I mean, I'm always working on my game, my philosophy and always trying to understand everything a little better. I think ultimately I've just been playing a little bit more consistent. At the end of the day, whatever it is, you just got to win the point and execute. I've been doing that I think pretty good.''
Williams moved into the second round along with defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, while 2009 quarterfinalist Victoria Azarenka showed how easy it is to stumble on clay, winning only three games before she departed.
Advancing on the men's side was No. 5-seeded Robin Soderling, hoping to mount another run at Roland Garros after upsetting four-time champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round last year.
Among those scheduled to play their opening matches Monday were defending champion Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Serena Williams.
While Serena is ranked No. 1, her older sister has the best record on the women's tour at 27-4. Last week Venus climbed for the first time since 2003 to second in the rankings.
Serena and Venus were also 1-2 that year.
It feels good to be moving up the ranks,'' Venus said.Everybody wants to be No. 1, especially me, because I'm closer than most of the other players on the tour.''
The sisters could meet in the June 5 final, but that's a long way off, and Venus has reached the Roland Garros semifinals only once - eight years ago, when she lost to her sister in the final.