JOIN USMahut knocks out Roddick
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made the Paris spectators happy when he recovered from a first-set loss to move into the second round of the French Open on Sunday's first day.
Minutes later, Nicolas Mahut doubled the home fans' delight when he joined his fellow Frenchman in the next round after a four-set defeat of American Andy Roddick.
World number five Tsonga, the highest seed in action on the opening day, beat Russian qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, waking up after a slow start on the Philippe Chatrier court to earn a standing ovation at the end.
Mahut, who had lost eight times in the Roland Garros first round before this year, looked vulnerable again when, having strapped up his left knee, he dropped the third set, but he came back to take the match 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
Argentine Juan Martin del Potro also overcame a knee injury in beating Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1.
Former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero knocked out battling local player, and Roland Garros debutant, Jonathan Dasnieres de Veigy 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 in bright sunshine on the Suzanne Lenglen Court.
Spaniard Ferrero, who at 32 is one of the more seasoned campaigners in the men's draw, was not entirely happy with his performance but he said his age did not bother him.
Ferrero will now play Marin Cilic after the Croatian defeated Spain's Daniel Munoz 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French champion, blew kisses to the crowd after making short work of Spanish qualifier Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino in her opening match.
The Serbian former world number one, seeded 13th, finished off a 59-minute 6-1, 6-1 demolition with an ace.
Australian Samantha Stosur, seeded sixth, was also in a hurry, taking just over an hour to dismiss Britain's Elena Baltacha 6-4, 6-0.
Stosur, runner-up here in 2010, was happy to be back on red clay in Paris after players criticised the blue clay surface introduced at the Madrid Open this month, saying it was slippery.
Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka will be in action on Monday, along with Roger Federer, starting his quest for a 17th Grand Slam title.
French Open (first round, prefix denotes seeding): Men’s singles: Nicolas Mahut (Fra) bt 26-Andy Roddick (US) 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; 5-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra) bt Andrey Kuznetsov (Rus) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4; 14-Fernando Verdasco (Esp) bt Steve Darcis (Bel) 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4); 18-Stanislas Wawrinka (Sui) bt Flavio Cipolla (Ita) 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-2; 9-Juan Martin Del Potro (Arg) bt Albert Montanes (Esp) 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-1; 21-Marin Cilic (Cro) bt Daniel Munoz (Esp) 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
Women’s singles: 13-Ana Ivanovic (Srb) bt Lara Arruabarrena (Esp) 6-1, 6-1; 21-Sara Errani (Ita) bt Casey Dellacqua (Aus) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2; 10-Angelique Kerber (Ger) bt Zhang Shuai (Chn) 6-3, 6-4; 26-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) bt Mirjana Lucic (Cro) 6-1, 6-3; 20-Lucie Safarova (Cze) bt Anastasiya Yakimova (Blr) 6-2, 6-0; 6-Samantha Stosur (Aus) bt Elena Baltacha (Gbr) 6-4, 6-0.