Paris: Dinara Safina rolled past another opponent on Wednesday at the French Open, this time beating Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia 6-1, 6-1 in the second round.
The top-seeded Safina took a 5-0 lead to open the match, stretching her streak to 17 straight games after winning 6-0, 6-0 in the first round.
"Pretty good start for the tournament," said Safina, who lost in the Australian Open final and was the runner-up at Roland Garros last year. "I just played a good game today, good enough to win."
Diatchenko, an 18-year-old Russian qualifier ranked 153rd, broke Safina once in the second set but failed to convert her only other chance in the first.
"I felt so bad because I didn't play my best game today," Diatchenko said. "She's in good form. Every ball she put close to the line."
No. 25 Li Na of China also advanced to the third round, beating Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 6-1, 6-4.
On the men's side, French veteran Fabrice Santoro played his last match at Roland Garros.
Santoro, who has made a record 67 Grand Slam appearances, lost in the first round of this year's French Open--his record-tying 20th --to Christophe Rochus of Belgium 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
"Twenty years. That counts for something in a lifetime," Santoro said. "It has been a long road, a fantastic career. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot."
Santoro and Rochus started their match Tuesday, but it was suspended by darkness with the Belgian leading 5-3 in the fourth set. The pair came back out onto the court after Safina's win and played only eight minutes.
"I'm saying to myself that the story is over, that a page is being turned," Santoro said. "I will no longer be on court next year. But I think that it is time to go."
Later Wednesday, four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal is scheduled to get back on court, as is two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin.
For the women, No. 3 Venus Williams, No. 8 Ana Ivanovic and unseeded Maria Sharapova are scheduled to play.
Local fans waiting for the first homegrown men's champion since 1983 had plenty — specifically Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils — to cheer about Tuesday.
The still young but definitely up-and-coming players each advanced to the second round at Roland Garros. Tsonga, the 2008 Australian Open finalist, beat French player Julien Benneteau 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on center court, and Monfils eliminated Bobby Reynolds of the United States 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 despite a lingering injury to his left knee.
"I got into the match easily, better than I thought," said the 22-year-old Monfils, who reached the French Open semifinals last year. "At the very end, there was a warning sign, a little pain in the knee, but I think it's due to the fact it was a bit warmer, then cooler."
The weather played a little havoc on the tournament Tuesday, with a two-hour rain delay preceding a windy and cool afternoon.
Second-seeded Serena Williams was also bothered by the conditions before winning in three sets to advance to the second round, while No. 5 Jelena Jankovic survived the rain delay and eventually won in two.
Among the men, No. 4 Novak Djokovic, No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro and 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero advanced.
The last Frenchman to win the French Open was Yannick Noah. Tsonga and Monfils are half of the quartet of French players that have been favored to end that drought, along with Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet. Simon advanced to the second round on Monday, while Gasquet is missing from the tournament after allegedly testing positive for cocaine.
The 24-year-old Tsonga became a star last year by reaching the Australian Open final, eventually losing to Djokovic. On Tuesday, he was just happy to get his first win at Roland Garros.
"Center court and the crowd was behind me," said Tsonga, who missed last year's tournament because of injury and failed to qualify for the main draw in the previous two. "I felt good on that court. So for me, it's a relief. And also, it encourages me to continue in the same way."
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