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Zuluaga can't rise up past Venus

Sanda Mamic of Croatia plays a forehand during her second-round match against Elena Dementieva of Russia during the French Open in Roland Garros in Paris, yesterday. PHOTO: EPA

Venus Williams overcame nine double faults and a poor second set Wednesday to beat Fabiola Zuluaga 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the second round of the French Open.

Seeded 11th, Williams had 45 unforced errors to just 17 winners and lost serve seven times. But Zuluaga was even more erratic and lost to Williams for the sixth time in as many meetings.

Seeking her fifth Grand Slam title but her first since 2001, Williams is coming off her 32nd tournament title and her first in a year, winning last week in Istanbul.

No. 4-seeded Elena Dementieva, the runner-up last year to Anastasia Myskina, beat Sanda Mamic 7-6 (7), 6-2. No. 27 Amy Frazier and No. 31 Karolina Sprem were eliminated.

Defending men's champion Gaston Gaudio reached the third round when Dmitry Tursunov defaulted shortly before their match because of a knee injury.

Tursunov withdrew after undergoing an MRI exam that disclosed a possible cartilage tear. The Russian had been bothered by a sore left knee for almost a week, but beat Stefan Koubek in four sets in the first round.

PHOTO: AP

No. 10 David Nalbandian swept Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

Frazier lost to Frenchwoman Emilie Loit 6-4, 6-4. Sprem was beaten by Akiko Morigami 7-5, 6-3.

The morning's opening match on center court began in short-sleeve weather, the first of the week, with sunny skies and a balmy breeze. Williams appeared on her way to a routine win before a flurry of errant shots allowed Zuluaga to sweep the final three games of the second set.

The players traded spurts in the last set. Williams won the first four games, Zuluaga won the next three and Williams won eight of the final nine points, closing out the victory with consecutive service winners.

"Something tells me I'm at the stage of my career where I'm going to be living with these injections"

Andre Agassi, the oldest player at the French Open

Tall and gangly, Williams has yet to prove her footwork is fluid enough to win a major title on clay. Zuluaga sometimes sent her lunging into the corners or spinning awkwardly behind the baseline after hitting a shot.

Williams last reached the quarterfinals at a major event a year ago in Paris before losing to eventual champion Myskina. Her best showing at Roland Garros came in 2002, when she was beaten by sister Serena in the final.

Those who have watched heavy traffic whiz through the roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe know Parisians love speed as much as anyone. And so when Andy Roddick hit a serve 142mph Tuesday on the final point of his first-round match, the crowd responded with an appreciative: "Oooooh."

So what if the shot landed centimeters long? Roddick spun his second serve in and won the point to beat French wild-card Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Still trying to calibrate his game for clay, Roddick possesses the fastest serve in tennis but knows it will take more than that to win a major title on the sport's slowest surface.

"It's not going to be the same as it is on grass or on hardcourt," he said. "I think that goes without saying. Can it be a weapon? Yes, if it's used effectively and if I make a high percentage. I think that's key on clay."

Roddick won the US Open in 2003, was runner-up at Wimbledon last year and is a two-time semifinalist at the Australian Open. But his record at Roland Garros is a modest 4-4, including first-round exits in 2002 and 2003.

As a result, he's not considered among the favorites, even though he's seeded No. 2.

"This is the one time of year where pretty much I get overlooked from the get-go," Roddick said. "I'm trying to kind of take that attitude and just maybe try to surprise some people."

Roddick can play on clay. Five of his 17 career titles have come on the surface, most recently at Houston last month. But he lost consecutive clay-court matches -- in Rome and Hamburg -- before coming to Paris.

"Obviously, this has been the biggest challenge for me," he said. "I'm going to give it a go."

Agassi out

Andre Agassi, the oldest player at the French Open, felt his age Tuesday. Hobbled by an inflamed nerve in his back that dates back months, Agassi lost in the opening round for the second year in a row. He didn't request treatment from a trainer, but rarely ran after shots in the final two sets and lost to Finnish qualifier Jarkko Nieminen 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-0.

The 35-year-old Agassi said the injury flared up in the third set.

"The nerve in my back started getting inflamed and sending pain all the way down my leg, and it was getting worse by the minute," he said. "To serve was painful, to move, to stand and even to sit. It was getting worse and worse."

Agassi said a cortisone injection he received in February alleviated the symptoms for a while, but his back began to bother him again about a month ago. He said he might need another shot to compete at Wimbledon.

"I have every intention of playing," he said. "Something tells me I'm at the stage of my career where I'm going to be living with these injections."

Agassi set an Open era record for men by playing in his 58th major event. He has lost in the opening round nine times. At Roland Garros, he failed to reach the third round for the seventh time in 16 appearances, but he won the tournament in 1999 to complete a career Grand Slam.
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