| | Associated Press
PARIS -- Martina Navratilova, playing in a Grand Slam for
the first time since 1996, teamed with Mariaan de Swardt to win
their opening doubles match today at the French Open.
Navratilova and de Swardt rallied to beat Sabine Appelmans and
Rita Grande 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.
Navratilova, 43, is trying to add to her total of 56 major
titles in singles and doubles. She plans to play four tournaments
this year with de Swardt, finishing at Wimbledon.
|  | | Chanda Rubin upset seventh-seeded Nathalie Tauziat on Friday. |
"It was a blast to be out there, a total blast," Navratilova said. "It's fantastic. It's a treat. People say, 'Why are you still
playing?' I say, 'Because I still can.' I can still compete,
obviously, and play decent tennis."
Unseeded American Chanda Rubin eliminated No. 7 Nathalie Tauziat
6-4, 7-6 (3). Rubin, one of only three American women left in the
tournament, overcame a poor game serving for the match at 6-5 in
the second set.
"I knew I blew an opportunity, so it kind of made it worse,"
she said. "I managed to pull it out. I felt I played a pretty good
match, but a little shaky at times. Just have to get better."
The only seeded player remaining in Rubin's quarter of the draw
is No. 1 Martina Hingis, who swept Tathiana Garbin 6-1, 6-0. No. 3
Monica Seles beat Rita Kuti Kis 6-1, 6-2.
Joining Tauziat on the sideline was another seeded Frenchwoman,
No. 10 Sandrine Testud, who lost to Asa Carlsson 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. The
upsets left 10 of the 16 seeded players in the women's draw,
including two from France -- No. 6 Mary Pierce and No. 13 Amelie
Mauresmo.
Pierce beat Virginie Razzano 6-4, 6-0. Mauresmo needed just 39
minutes for a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Kveta Hrdlickova, who won only
four of 28 points in the second set.
The last Frenchwoman to win the French Open was Francoise Durr
in 1967.
On the warmest day of the tournament, with temperatures in the
70s, Rubin reached the fourth round at Roland Garros for the third
time.
"I feel like my game has improved just being on this surface
again," she said.
Rubin, 24, is best remembered in Paris for rallying from a 5-0,
40-love deficit in the third set to beat Jana Novotna in 1995.
Tauziat struggled with her serve and played a shaky tiebreaker,
netting an easy volley and then hitting a lob long on match point.
She said the defeat won't influence her decision at the end of the
year regarding whether to retire.
"I lost today, and that's it," said Tauziat, 32. "After the
French Open there are other tournaments."
Her 17 appearances at Roland Garros ties a record, but she has
never had much success, reaching the quarterfinals only once.
Carlsson, ranked 53rd, needed nearly 2½ hours to beat Testud.
The Swede reached match point by hitting a lunging volley for a
winner, and when Testud dumped her final shot into the net,
Carlsson let out a yelp and jumped up and down with glee.
American Lindsay Davenport, bothered by back spasms in a
first-round upset loss to Dominique Van Roost, pulled out of
doubles because of the injury. | |
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French Open notebook
Top-seeded Hingis struggles but tames temper, qualifier
Comeback detour: Navratilova knocked out of Madrid Open
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