Stosur leads Aussie action at Roland Garros

Samantha Stosur (Qld), seeded No.7, returns to Roland Garros tonight for her first match there since her spectacular run to the semi finals in 2009.

Stosur kicks off in the first round against Romanian qualifier Simona Halep. Although the 18 year old is ranked 114, Halep is no stranger to Roland Garros, winning the Junior Championships in 2008.

She has enjoyed some good form on clay recently, reaching the final of the WTA event in Morocco and battling through qualifying to reach the quarters in Marbella and the first round in Barcelona.

Alicia Molik (Vic) holds a 4-2 win-loss record over her opponent, No.4 seed Jelena Jankovic, although Jankovic prevailed in their past two meetings, in 2005 and 2006.

Former world No.8 Molik is upbeat about her chances against Jankovic, seeing the match as “a great opportunity”.

“If you are playing someone ranked as high as Jelena is, it is important to play them early on in the first week rather than when they get a bit of rhythm, timing and confidence towards the later stages in the week,” Molik said.

Jelena Dokic also has a tough opponent in Lucie Safarova (CZE), seeded No.24. Dokic has struggled with illness and injury for much of 2010, but returned to the circuit in Prague last week where she reached the quarterfinals.

Sophie Ferguson’s (NSW) form on clay continues to improve – last month she qualified for both Ponte Vedra and Charleston, where she reached the second round.

The match-hardened Ferguson has already battled through three qualifying matches so will be hoping for a good result against 20-year-old Petra Kvitova (CZE), the world No.63, whose best results this year have been on hard courts.

If there was an award for 2010’s unluckiest tennis player, Peter Luczak (Vic) would be lifting the trophy.

Luczak, ranked No.71, drew Rafael Nadal in the opening round of the Australian Open, and has backed up again at Roland Garros, where tonight he will make his Court Philippe Chatrier debut against world No.1 Roger Federer.

Carsten Ball rounds out the line-up of Aussies in action on Day Two of the French Open, and will face Germany’s Philipp Petzschner, ranked No.39 on Court Five.

Play starts at 7:00pm (AEST), live coverage available on Fox Sports. Check local guides for more information.

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