Maria survives scare

World number one Dinara Safina followed up her 6-0 6-0 walloping of Britain’s Anne Keothavong in the first round with a 6-1 6-1 demolition of luckless fellow Russian Vitalia Diatchenko and holder Ana Ivanovic discovered her sweet spot to crush Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-1 6-2.

Like Safina,Murray is also chasing a maiden Grand Slam title but the third seed’s hopes of equalling his best performance in Paris blew hot and cold on a chilly day on Philippe Chatrier Court.

After losing the second set,Murray ran around aimlessly chasing shadows and looked in danger of going two-sets-to-one down to a player ranked 101 places below him as Starace streaked 5-1 ahead. A combination of guile and deft shot-making allowed the Briton to save two set points.

The words “fear,” “terror” or “panic” do not feature in Sharapova’s dictionary and on Wednesday she again showed why.

On a comeback trail following a nine-month layoff because of a career-threatening shoulder injury,she hung tough for two hours 12 minutes before forcing Petrova to smack a forehand wide on match point. Sharapova beat an opponent ranked 91 places above her despite winning one point less than Petrova’s total of 94.

For Fabrice Santoro,however,there was no great escape. The sentimental French favourite,aka the Magician,took just eight minutes to perform his final vanishing act on Wednesday.

Santoro’s 20th and final Roland Garros singles appearance ended in an emotional 6-3 6-1 3-6 6-4 first round defeat by Belgium’s Christophe Rochus.

The match had been suspended on Tuesday at 5-3 to Rochus in the fourth set but upon resumption,Santoro bowed out after just two games.

“My game style was out of date when I arrived on tour. I got on the tour in the ‘90s,and my style dated back to the ‘70s. So managing to get good performances for 20 years when you’re 20 years late … that’s the beauty of my career,” said Santoro.