The French Open

Frenchman Fabrice Santoro made his last of 20 straight appearances at Rolland-Garros today.  In this record-tying appearance, the 36-year old, who uses two hands for both his forehand and backhand, lost to Christophe Rochus of Belgium.  The match ended in eight minutes after being postponed Tuesday when darkness interrupted.  Santoro has made 67 Grand Slam appearances.

The day also showed promise for others, as Dinara Safina beat Vitalia Diatchenko (both Russian) and Serbian Ana Ivanovic prevailed over Tamarine Tanasugarn from Thailand. Safina and Ivanovic are both in the third round.

In men’s tennis, no. 3 Andy Murray from Scotland defeated Potito Starace of Italy.  The Scot finally got out of a 5-1 struggle in the third set, prevailing three times to win.  Murray cited the clay surface of the court itself as something that worked in his favor: “On clay, there’s always time for you to get sort of back into the match and find your game, even if you’re struggling.”

Keep an eye out for the upcoming matches du jour when four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal, two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, unseeded Maria Sharapova, and third-seeded Venus Williams play.

Watch the French Open in its entirety on TV5 Monde.