Defending the crown on the ladies’ side, Amelie Mauresmo beat American Shenay Perry in her first match today (6-3, 6-4). 2005 Australian Open winner Serena Williams also advanced to the next round of play by trouncing Mara Santangelo of Italy in straight sets (6-2, 6-1). As Serena herself said, “There is only one way I can move, and that’s up.†Another winner in straight sets, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia defeated Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada (6-3, 6-3).
Third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Australian Jessica Moore (6-2, 6-0) to lead six of her Russian compatriots into the second round. She was joined by fifth seed Nadia Petrova, seventh seed Elena Dementieva, Maria Kirilenko, and Elena Vesnina.
Russian (and top-seeded) Maria Sharapova begins her bid for consecutive Grand Slam titles tomorrow, taking on Camille Pin of France. More hot action tomorrow: Kim Clijsters vs. Vasilisa Bardina, Martina Hingis vs. Nathalie Dechy, Dinara Safina vs. Ekaterina Bychkova.
