Often-criticized American tennis is showing fire early on the red clay of Roland Garros.
Top-seeded Serena Williams rolling along at the French Open is no surprise — even though she lost in the first round last year and hasn’t won this title since 2002 — but she’s certainly not the only US player off to a good start.
Jamie Hampton continued a strong clay-court run with an upset victory over 25th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (5), 3-6, 9-7 Wednesday. That gave the United States 10 women in the French Open's second round for the second consecutive year.
The 10 Americans into the second round at the clay-court major tournament in 2012 and 2013 are the most since 11 did it in 2003. As few as four got that far in several recent years: 2011, 2009, 2008, 2006 and 2005.
''A couple years ago, we weren't even in the scene,'' Hampton said. ''There wasn't even a group of us. We've progressed, and I think the whole group will continue to progress. We've all got really good games. We're just trying to find our way on the clay right now.''
Hampton, a 23-year-old coming off a trip to the Brussels semifinals last week, earned her first victory at Roland Garros after losing in the first round last year. Her best Grand Slam showing came at the Australian Open in January, when she pushed eventual champion Victoria Azarenka to three sets in the third round while dealing with a lower back problem.
Two US women are already into the third round. Serena extended her career-best winning streak to 26 matches by routing wild card Caroline Garcia of France, 6-1, 6-2. She committed only nine unforced errors while never facing a break point.
''It's important for me to win easily,'' Serena said. ''It's also important for me to play well. If I play well, it will bode well for me at Roland Garros.''
No. 29 Varvara Lepchenko also reached the third round by whacking 22 forehand winners to defeat Elina Svitolina 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Three Americans did stumble in the second round — Madison Keys, Mallory Burdette and Shelby Rogers. Rogers took a one-set lead over No. 20 Carla Suarez Navarro before falling 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
The US men didn’t fare quite as well in the first round, with a 4-6 mark. But Sam Querrey, seeded 18th, reached the third round at Roland Garros for the first time by sweeping past Jan Hajek 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 on Wednesday.
Two of the other US men remaining — No. 19 John Isner and Ryan Harrison — meet in a second-round match Thursday, with the winner to meet the winner of the match between No. 12 Tommy Haas and American Jack Sock.
Here’s a look at what’s on tap for US players Thursday:
Jack Sock vs. Tommy Haas (12): Sock, who honored two friends who died recently during his first-round victory, knows resurgent veteran Haas well.
“I practice with him a lot in Los Angeles and at tournaments,” Sock, 20, said in a report on the French Open website. “He’s obviously a very good player and has made a great comeback to be top 15 in the world again.”
The two have never met when it counts, but with their familiarity, it promises to be a good one.
Ryan Harrison vs. John Isner (19): These two Americans are familiar with each other, having met four times since 2010. Isner is 3-1, including a straight-sets victory on the clay in Houston. That clay is nothing like Roland Garros, but expect Isner to use his experience and huge serve to advance.
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova vs. Jamie Hampton: The American has an excellent chance to move on against the 18-year-old Slovakian qualifier, who took out Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer in three sets in the first round. Hampton is on a good roll. That should continue.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs. Li Na (6): A tough ask for Mattek-Sands, even though she’s on a career-best run. Her recent charge to the Stuttgart semifinals ended in a straight-set loss to Li, the 2011 French Open champion. The players have met twice, both on clay, with Li winning each.
Melanie Oudin vs. Zheng Jie: Oudin, who looked to be a rising star in 2009 with unexpected efforts at Wimbledon (fourth round) and the US Open (quarterfinals), hasn’t gotten past the second round at a major since. Well, here’s her chance against Chinese veteran Zheng. The two have met once, with Zheng winning in 2011 on grass. This one’s there for the taking for Oudin.
Vania King vs. Sloane Stephens (17): Another meeting of two Americans, and one that Stephens is expected to win handily. King is a solid player, but she doesn’t have the firepower to match up with Stephens. These two have never met, but unless Stephens lets the pressure get to her, she’ll move on.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
