Roddick, Sharapova collect opening victories

~ The American and Russian both swept opponents Tuesday.

NEW YORK -- The lady in red shanked a backhand wide, prompting Maria Sharapova's opponent to leap in the air and pump her fist and smile as though she'd won the match -- or, indeed, the U.S. Open championship itself.

Uh, not quite. That little celebration by 51st-ranked Roberta Vinci of Italy was for winning one game Tuesday night, allowing her to narrow the dressed-for-success Sharapova's lead to 6-0, 5-1.

"I win one game, I'm happy," Vinci said. "6-love, 6-love? No. 6-love, 6-1? OK."

A few minutes and one hold of serve later, Sharapova's 50-minute day was done, and she was into the second round at the tournament where she produced her second Grand Slam title a year ago.

Andy Roddick celebrated a point during his U.S. Open match Tuesday against Justin Gimelstob. (DARRON CUMMINGS ~ Associated Press)

"There's no way to get rid of the memories when I walk on the court and feel the vibe," the second-seeded Russian said, 600 crystals on her red dress sparkling in the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights. "Every corner I turn here, I get goose bumps."

Andy Roddick might very well have similar sentiments as he walks around the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. He did, after all, win the 2003 U.S. Open for his only major title, and he won his first-round match Tuesday night, following Sharapova on court and beating Justin Gimelstob 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-3.

The 30-year-old Gimelstob is retiring, and Roddick hugged him at the net afterward. Gimelstob knelt down to kiss the blue court after his last U.S. Open match, then held court for a while, conducting a postmatch interview with Roddick for the fans.

"We're going to miss one of the funniest guys on tour," Roddick said.

They're pals and engaged in a bit of levity in the second set, with Gimelstob arguing good-naturedly with the chair umpire about whether he should have a first serve or a second serve after fans interrupted play by applauding a group of military members in the stands.

Maria Sharapova returned a shot to Roberta Vinci during their first-round match Tuesday at the U.S. Open in New York. Sharapova advanced with a 6-0, 6-1 victory. (ED BETZ ~ Associated Press)

After a lengthy delay, Gimelstob wound up double-faulting.

"You go on for an hour," Roddick shouted, "then you do that?"

Sharapova, meanwhile, compiled 15 winners before Vinci hit her first and finished with a 30-3 edge in that category during the 6-0, 6-1 victory. It was part of a mini-parade of past champions in first-round action, including victories for Martina Hingis, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Lleyton Hewitt.

Sharapova's been on the wrong end of some routs at Grand Slam tournaments this year, including against Serena Williams in the Australian Open final and against Venus Williams in Wimbledon's fourth round. And Sharapova, whose breakthrough came with the 2004 Wimbledon title at age 17, has been dealing with shoulder problems much of 2007.

No signs of that Tuesday, although she did double-fault twice on match point in the final game. Otherwise, about the biggest problem Sharapova had was when she missed a sip of water during a changeover and spilled a spot on her custom-made outfit.

Even Vinci took note of the getup, saying: "It's difficult to play against her. Strong player. Nice girl. She has a nice dress."

"It's red this year, like the Big Apple, in honor of the city," Sharapova told the crowd, before gathering her patent leather racket bag and black jeweled handbag and heading to the locker room.

"Put on a nice outfit, and some makeup, and you're the bomb," Sharapova noted later.

Sharapova's good feelings from her U.S. Open title are still fresh, but it's been a decade since Hingis won the tournament.

Hingis advanced with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Mathilde Johansson of France. Others winning Tuesday included a man many consider a likely future Grand Slam champion, No. 3-seeded Novak Djokovic, and No. 6 James Blake. The day's biggest early surprise came when No. 9 Daniela Hantuchova was eliminated by 50th-ranked Julia Vakulenko.