Jo-Wilfried Tsonga shows the way

Gael Monfils was hoping to follow up his shock first-round defeat of fifth seed Tomas Berdych against Latvia8217;s Ernests Gulbis while 19-year-old Caroline Garcia faced the biggest challenge of all against world number one Serena Williams.

Azarenka,who had to wait until day four to play her first-round match against Russia8217;s Elena Vesnina because of Tuesday8217;s rain,found her clay feet with a 6-1 6-4 victory.

The stadium was barely one-third full as Azarenka went through her paces but the low decibel level from the seats was offset by the grunts,howls and groans from the two players.

Belarussian Azarenka just about won the noise battle,although Vesnina ran her close,and she had little trouble winning the match either.

Asked what she did while waiting for the rain to stop on Tuesday,the 23-year-old said she watched singing competition The Voice on television.

There8217;s this girl. Her name is Judith. She was a duet singer with Michael Jackson. She8217;s absolutely incredible. I mean,I have no idea how sound like that can come out of somebody8217;s mouth, she said.

Tsonga is regarded as France8217;s best hope of a first men8217;s grand-slam champion since 1983 when Yannick Noah captured the hearts of the public at Roland Garros by beating Mats Wilander.

He took a while to loosen up against the steady Nieminen who got the first break of serve and had to save a set point before overpowering his opponent with some impressive tennis.

The 28-year-old Tsonga,the last Frenchman to reach a major final in Australia in 2008,said he was happy to be carrying the flag for the sizeable home contingent.

It8217;s positive pressure because I have everything to win and I would say nothing to lose, Tsonga told reporters. If I go far in this tournament or if I win,it8217;s going to be something huge, he said.

Asked to summarise his performance,he said: I played some 8216;pie in the sky8217; shots that I am not necessarily accustomed to doing,but I did. I could have produced a better copy book.

There were mixed results for Tsonga8217;s compatriots.

Local wildcard Aravane Rezai offered a bold challenge to Czech seventh seed Petra Kvitova but fell short,losing 6-3 4-6 6-2 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Milos Raonic hit 24 aces and defeated Frenchman Michael Llodra in the second round,7-5,3-6,7-6 3,6-2.

The big-hitting Raonic repeatedly passed Llodra,who charged aggressively but won only 28 of 56 points at the net. Raonic,a Canadian seeded 14th,earned his 100th tour victory and matched his best result at Roland Garros by reaching the third round.

Gilles Simon,seeded 15,struggled to impose himself against Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay but hit top form to win 6-7 2 6-1 6-1 6-1.

Fourth seed David Ferrer took his place in the third round almost unnoticed after thrashing fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes on an outside court.

Croatia8217;s Marin Cilic ended the hopes of Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios,leaving France8217;s Lucas Pouille as the only teenager still in the men8217;s draw.

Former top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki lost 7-6 2,6-3 to Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday.

No sister clash

The unseeded Jovanovski hit 33 winners to only 13 for the 10th-seeded Dane. She will next face former French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia. A runner-up at the 2009 U.S. Open,Wozniacki had her best showing at Roland Garros in 2010 when she reached the quarterfinals.

Polish hopes of a third-round meeting between the Radwanska sisters vanished after the fourth-seeded Agnieszka beat American Mallory Burdette 6-3 6-2 but Urszula went out 6-3 6-3 to German Dinah

Federer thrashes Somdev in Rd 2

PARIS: Roger Federer was in no mood to hang around as he moved into the third round of the French Open with a 6-2 6-1 6-1 demolition of India8217;s Somdev Devvarman,but his title credentials were barely put to the test in a hopelessly one-sided match. Federer,chasing a second French Open title,was never put under pressure and ruthlessly exploited his opponent8217;s frailties.

The Swiss did not lose a point against the 188th ranked qualifier until the third game and took the first set in just 23 minutes with two breaks of serve. The 17-times grand slam winner broke a further three times in both the second and third sets as Devvarman wilted.

REUTERS