Serbs dominate French Open

PARIS – They held an unofficial Serbia day todayat Roland Garros, with many, many Serbia days likely to come for years.

Three players hailing from a country slightly smaller than South Carolina somehow hold down half of the world’s top six male and female ranking slots, and all three played Court Philippe Chatrier, the main stadium court, and all three combined to lose zero sets.

By late morning, Ana Ivanovic, ranked No. 2 among the world’s women, pelted Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic, 6-0, 6-0, then assured reporters the exercise had been tougher than it looked.

By early afternoon, Jelena Jankovic, the woman ranked No. 3, overcame both herself and 15th-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 6-3, 7-6 (3), finally clinching victory on her fifth match point and winning one point during which she fell on her keister midrally.

By midafternoon, Novak Djokovic, No. 3 among the planet’s men, took the court for a road match against the 19th-ranked Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu as the French crowd finally settled in and filled the place. Few thrills ensued, though, as Djokovic gave Mathieu a rapid 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 barbecuing after which Mathieu extolled Djokovic’s airtightness by saying, “He is one of the very few players in front of which you have the feeling that you are suffocating.”

Another Serbia day will come Tuesday, when 2007 finalist Ivanovic plays a quarterfinal against 11th-ranked Patty Schnyder of Switzerland and 2007 semifinalist Jankovic plays the surprising Spanish teen-ager Carla Suarez Navarro, who ransacked Flavia Pennetta of Italy, 6-3, 6-2, just two days after Pennetta had ousted Venus Williams.

In Djokovic’s quarterfinal, he’ll get another teen-ager, rising star Ernests Gulbis of Latvia who, like Djokovic, learned in part at the Munich tennis academy of Niki Pilic, the 1973 French Open finalist who lost that year to Ilie Nastase.

Gulbis, the grandson of a former Soviet national team basketball player, showed unusual calm for a 19-year-old in romping through another Frenchman, Michael Llodra, by 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3.