Former champions Gaston Gaudio and Juan Carlos Ferrero, two of a host of men praying that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal lose their way at Roland Garros, reached the second round at the French Open on Monday.
Argentinian 10th seed Gaudio, the 2004 champion, breezed past Croatian qualifier Roko Karanusic 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a second-round date with Evgeny Korolev of Russia.
Ferrero, the 2003 winner, saw off Argentinian qualifier Juan Martin del Potro, at 17 the youngest man in the draw, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
The Spanish 24th seed now meets either Oliver Marach of Austria or Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.
Gaudio was the shock winner here two years ago when he came back from two sets down and saved two match points in the final to see off compatriot Guillermo Coria.
But the 27-year-old has endured a poor run-in to the French Open, losing in the first round at the Rome Masters, the second in Hamburg and then losing two more matches at the World Team Cup in Dusseldorf last week.
”I thought it would be a miracle to win here,” said Gaudio.
World number one and top seed Federer discovered who his second round opponent will be when Colombia’s Alejandro Falla beat America’s Justin Gimelstob 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
Defending champion Nadal was due to open his campaign later on Monday against Sweden’s Robin Soderling, where a win would set a new all-time record of 54 successive wins on clay, taking him past Guillermo Vilas’s 1977 record of 53.
”I need one more match and I’m going to do my best, but not to beat the record — to win Roland Garros,” said the Spanish teenager.
Sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia had no problems dismissing American Vincent Spadea 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.
The women’s tournament lost its first seeded player when Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva, the 18th seed and a semifinalist last year, slumped to a 6-1, 6-1 defeat against Karolina Sprem of Croatia.
Sprem next meets rising Chinese star Peng Shuai, who disposed of Russia’s Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-2. Chinese number one Li Na also advanced but was pushed hard by United States veteran Amy Frazier before winning 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-1.
Earlier Patty Schnyder, the Swiss seventh seed, saw off Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek 6-1, 6-2 while Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, the ninth seed, defeated Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4.
Second seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium, twice a runner-up, opened her campaign with a straight sets win over France’s Virginie Razzano.
US Open champion Clijsters dismissed 68th-ranked Razzano 6-0, 7-6 (7/4) after 1hr 17min on the Philippe Chatrier Court.
Clijsters trailed 2-5 in the second set before taking her fourth victory over Razzano in as many meetings as another former runner-up, 11th seed Venus Williams of the US, eased past Austria’s Sybille Bammer 6-4, 6-3. — AFP
