PARIS, May 31 (UPI) -- Amelie Mauresmo, Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams Wednesday all won their second-round matches at the French Open in Paris.
Mauresmo, the No. 1 women's player in the world, beat Vera Dushevina of Russia, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5); the fourth-seeded Sharapova, a former Wimbledon champion, topped unseeded Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-1; and No. 11 Williams, the 2002 French Open winner, beat Finland's Emma Laine, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.
Williams, a former world No. 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion, overcame a 0-4 deficit in the first set and won 13 of the final 17 games to advance.
Also winning were seventh-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland; eighth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia; ninth-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy; who won the U.S. Open in 2004; No. 14 Dinara Safina of Russia; No. 16 Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic and 17th-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy.
