New balls, three seeds lose at French Open

PARIS (AP):

No one went quite so far as to blame a day one loss at the French Open on - or credit a victory to - the different tennis balls being used this year at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament.

There were, though, plenty of opinions about the switch of spheres.

They're harder, most agreed. They're fluffier, a few thought. They're better, some suggested, for players such as Rafael Nadal, who use a lot of spin. They're faster, at least at first, then tend to slow after a few games. They'll help powerful servers.

"In the locker room, a lot of the girls (are) coming in with a lot of shoulder issues. They say the balls are pretty hard," the highest-ranked American woman entered in the tournament, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, said yesterday after coming back to beat Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

"The balls are pretty strange," 14th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland said after winning yesterday. "Obviously I do notice a big difference from last year."

The 2010 women's runner-up, Sam Stosur of Australia, wasn't so sure.

"They might be a little bit harder," said Stosur, who defeated Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3 in the first match on Court Philippe Chatrier. "I don't think that's a bad thing or a good thing. It's just what they are."

Stosur now faces Simona Halep of Romania, while Mattek-Sands meets Varvara Lepchenko, who was born in Uzbekistan but lives in Allentown, Pa, and as a longtime resident of the United States is allowed to represent it on tour.

Seeded

The 85th-ranked Lepchenko authored the biggest upset of a windy, sunny day short on big names at the only Grand Slam tournament that begins on a Sunday, eliminating 18th-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

The other seeded players exiting were No. 19 Marin Cilic of Croatia and No. 19 Shahar Peer of Israel; winners included 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 7 David Ferrer.

Cilic made 67 unforced errors in a 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 loss to Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, a 33-year-old Spaniard who had lost in the first round in 13 of his 14 previous appearances at Grand Slam tournaments.

Today's schedule features Novak Djokovic, who is 37-0 this season; 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer; defending champion Francesca Schiavone and No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki.