Sharapova, Nadal turn back foes

PARIS—Knowing her first match as the French Open’s defending champion was scheduled for late in the day, Maria Sharapova decided to treat herself to some down time at a local park.

Nothing like a little introspection before competition.

“I remember myself sitting in the same position last year. You think back to those moments, and you go through the changes and the additions and the minuses and all the things you have in your life, and at the end of the day, I’m still doing the same thing,” she said. “And I love it just as much, which puts a big smile on my face.”

Nearly a decade removed from her first Grand Slam title, Sharapova set out to win what would be major No. 5 with a rather quick and simple 6-2, 6-1 victory Monday over 42nd-ranked Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan in the first round at Roland Garros.

The schedule for Tuesday, when the forecast predicted rain, includes the two champions from the Australian Open in January, No. 1-seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Victoria Azarenka, along with past major titlists Petra Kvitova and Samantha Stosur.

Sharapova completed a career Grand Slam with last year’s French Open trophy, adding it to the ones from Wimbledon in 2004, the US Open in 2006, and the Australian Open in 2008. She never got the chance to defend that last one in 2009, because she was sidelined with a right shoulder injury that required surgery in 2010.

There is certainly something special about returning to the site of a championship, as she did Monday.

“It’s nice to come back to a place where you feel like you’re part of its history,” Sharapova said, “where your name will always be (engraved) somewhere on the wall or on the trophy.”

Rafael Nadal, an 11-time major champion, also knows that feeling well, of course—especially in Paris, where he has won a record seven titles, including the past three.

His bid to become the only man with eight championships at any Grand Slam tournament got off to a slow start Monday, before he restored order by coming back to beat 59th-ranked Daniel Brands, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-3.

“He was trying to hit every ball as hard as he can,” said Nadal, who improved to 37-2 this season, with 16 victories in a row. “He made me suffer, I can tell you.”

The victory improved his career record at Roland Garros to 53-1, the only loss coming in the fourth round in 2009 against Robin Soderling. AP