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PARIS: Out of form former French world No. 1 Amelie
Mauresmo got off to the perfect start in search of a morale-boosting
tournament win here on Tuesday with an easy 6-1, 6-2 win over
American qualifier Julie Ditty.
Mauresmo’s chances of lifting
the title for a third time improved also with the defeat of
titleholder Nadia Petrova, the Russian seeded fifth going down 7-6
(7-4), 3-6, 6-4 to Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine.
Mauresmo, 28 and coming off a
disappointing Australian Open where she went out in the third round,
took less than an hour to dispose of the 29-year-old American, who
is ranked 101 in the world and whom she had not played since their
junior days.
The Frenchwoman, who won the
title in 2001 and 2006, will face Greece’s Eleni Daniilidou in the
second round.
Petrova put her defeat down to
the in-form Bondarenko, who is ranked 43 in the world and recently
won the women’s doubles title with her sister Alona at the
Australian Open, due to a lack of confidence which has seen her fail
to win a tournament since landing the crown here last year.
--AFP
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