Nadal Faces Third Leftie, Sharapova to Resume French Open Match

By Danielle Rossingh
May 30 (Bloomberg) -- Defending-champion Rafael Nadal will face his third left-hander in as many rounds at the French Open tennis tournament today, while Maria Sharapova is scheduled to complete her second-round match at the clay-court Grand Slam.
The second-seeded Nadal, also a left-hander, plays Jarko Nieminen of Finland. Nadal eased past Nicolas Devilder of France yesterday, dropping five games in his three-set win.
The Spaniard, the only past winner left in the men's draw, is seeking to become the first player since Bjorn Borg 27 years ago to win at Roland Garros four years in a row. The 21-year-old has never lost a match at the Paris tournament.
Roger Federer, chasing the only Grand Slam title to elude him, yesterday lost an error-strewn first set against Albert Montanes of Spain before recovering to advance to the third round, where he'll meet Mario Antic of Croatia.
Russia's Sharapova will finish her match against Bethanie Mattek of the U.S. Darkness caused play to be suspended last night with the top-ranked woman leading 6-2, 2-3. The winner will play Karin Knapp of Italy, the No. 32 seed.
Second-ranked Ana Ivanovic of Serbia faces Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, while Venus Williams, a losing finalist to her sister Serena in 2002, will play Flavia Pennetta of Italy.
Serena Williams, the only past champion left in the women's draw, faces Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia.
Also among the men, Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia will play Wayne Odesnik of the U.S.