Nadal, Roddick, Henin progress at French Open
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Rafael Nadal overwhelmed French wild card player Gianni Mina 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to ease through the first round Tuesday at the French Open, announcing he is on his way back to a new run after his 31-match French Open winning streak was snapped by Swede Robin Solderling last year.
Andy Roddick managed to beat Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-2, 4- 6, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the first round.
"It's kind of like when you miss an assignment in school, and they give you a chance to get extra credit. I've been trying real hard to get extra credit and I definitely wasn't match-tough," said the sixth-seeded American. "There was a lot of ugliness out there today. But at the end of it, I get to play again."
Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, hadn't competed on clay since last year's French Open, when he reached the fourth round for the first time and he hadn't played on tour anywhere since April 4, when he won the hard-court title at Key Biscayne, Florida.
Roddick's was not the only successful return Tuesday as four- time French Open champions Justine Henin and Rafael Nadal, as well as Maria Sharapova, who's won the other three major tournaments.
Playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2007, Henin beat Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-3 to run her winning streaks at her favorite event to 22 matches and 37 sets.
Henin won titles at Roland Garros in 2003 and 2005-07, before taking a 20-month hiatus from tennis, and while she said before the event that she does not consider herself the defending champion, her skills make her a serious contender for another trophy.
Kimiko Date Krumm made a sensation Tuesday, who retired at the end of that season, then resumed playing in 2008, as she stunned former No. 1 Dinara Safina 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 to become, at 39 years seven months, the oldest woman to win a match at Roland Garros since Virginia Wade was two and half months older in 1985.
"If I lost, still, I'm very happy to be here," Date Krumm said.
She won despite a right calf injury that made her wonder if she 'd be able to play in the second round. Safina was the runner-up at the French Open each of the past two years, but she was undone by 17 double-faults and the same inability to close out a match she's displayed in the past.
