May 30, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 13, 1428

PARIS, May 29: Roger Federer's latest bid to add the French Open to his glittering collection of 10 Grand Slam titles got off to a winning start on Tuesday but Andy Roddick endured another Roland Garros flop.

World No 1 Federer beat American journeyman Michael Russell 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in a match which had been held over from Monday, one of many victims of the torrential rain which swamped Paris on the opening two days of the tournament.

Federer led 6-4, 4-1 when play was halted the previous evening, but he took less than 50 minutes to wrap up victory in bright sunshine on Court Philippe Chatrier to set up a second round meeting with French wildcard Thierry Ascione.

Roddick, whose career has been overshadowed by the recent double domination of Federer and Rafael Nadal, suffered his fourth first round defeat in seven trips to Paris.

Russia's Igor Andreev was the latest man to exploit the American third seed's claycourt discomfort winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in a tie where he hit 66 winners to Roddick's 19.

Chilean fifth seed Fernando Gonzalez, who was runner-up to Federer at the Australian Open in January, was also a first round casualty losing 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 to Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, like Roddick also a former world number one, kept up his record of never having lost a French Open first round match in eight visits when he beat Max Mirnyi of Belarus 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.

Hewitt, the 14th seed will face either 2004 champion Gaston Gaudio of Argentina or France's Marc Gicquel for a place in the third round.

The Australian, a quarter-finalist here in 2004 when he was beaten by Gaudio, came into Roland Garros on the back of some impressive recent displays on clay having reached the semi-finals in Rome and Portschach.

Later on Tuesday, double defending champion Rafael Nadal, was to open his campaign against highly-rated Argentinian teenager Juan Martin del Potro.

Spain's Tommy Robredo, the ninth seed and who could face Federer in the quarter-finals, beat Argentina's Sergio Roitman 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Argentina's 19th seed Guillermo Canas, playing here for the first time since serving a 15-month doping ban and who has defeated Federer twice this season, was also a first round winner.

Canas, twice a Roland Garros quarter-finalist, defeated Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-3, 6-1, 6-4.

Seventh seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia also made it safely through with a 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) win over gritty Frenchman Arnaud Clement while Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 17th seed and 2003 champion, saw off America's Amer Delic 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

In the women's championship, where prize money matches the men's for the first time, fourth seed Jelena Jankovic, sixth seed Nicole Vaidisova and 13th seed Elena Dementieva all cruised into the second round.

Serbia's Jankovic, buoyed by victory in Rome in the run-up to Roland Garros, eased past France's Stephanie Foretz 6-2, 6-2 while Czech teenager Vaidisova, a semi-finalist in 2006, saw off Switzerland's Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-4, 6-3.

Russia's Dementieva, the runner-up to compatriot Anastasia Myskina in 2004, was also a comfortable winner beating Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-2.

Russian 11th seed Nadia Petrova, a semi-finalist in 2003 and 2005, was knocked out in the first round for the second year in succession, losing 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 to Czech qualifier Kveta Peschke.

Petrova needed treatment on a back injury at the start of the second set and her movement became more restricted as the tie went on.

The 24-year-old, who was forced to pull out of the Italian Open with the same injury, will undergo a scan before making a decision on the forthcoming grass court season.

Last year she missed Wimbledon after injuring her hip on the eve of Roland Garros.

Tuesday’s results (prefix number denotes seeding):

Men’s singles:

First round: Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) beat 5-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) 6-2, 6-2, 6-4; Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) beat Tim Henman (Britain) 6-4, 6-3, 6-2; 14-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) beat Max Mirnyi (Belarus) 6-3, 6-1, 6-3; Igor Andreev (Russia) beat 3-Andy Roddick (US) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4; 21-Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) beat Alessio Di Mauro (Italy) 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Fernando Verdasco (Spain) beat Jerome Haehnel (France) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0; Gael Monfils (France) beat Olivier Rochus (Belgium) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1; Olivier Patience (France) beat Jonathan Eysseric (France) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4; 13-Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) beat Jan Hernych (Czech Republic) – Hernych retired; Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France) beat Marcos Daniel (Brazil) 6-1, 4-1 – Daniel retired; Michael Llodra (France) beat Nicolas Devilder (France) 6-4, 6-3, 6-3; 15-David Nalbandian (Argentina) beat Lee Hyung-Taik (South Korea) 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3; Albert Montanes (Spain) beat 25-Robin Soederling (Sweden) 7-6 (7-4), 4-1 – Soederling retired; 16-Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) beat Sebastien Grosjean (France) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4; 17-Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) beat Amer Delic (US) 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-4; 32-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat Justin Gimelstob (US) 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; Stefan Koubek (Austria) beat Christophe Rochus (Belgium) 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 1-2 – Rochus retired; 18-Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) beat Fabrice Santoro (France) 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 6-3, 6-3; Werner Eschauer (Austria) beat Alexandre Sidorenko (France) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 5-4 – Sidorenko retired; 11-Richard Gasquet (France) beat Nicolas Mahut (France) 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) beat Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (Spain) 0-6, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4; Kristof Vliegen (Belgium) beat Danai Udomchoke (Thailand) 6-2, 6-4, 6-3; Carlos Berlocq (Argentina) beat 30-Julien Benneteau (France) 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3; Mathieu Montcourt (France) beat Benjamin Becker (Germany) 6-3, 6-1, 6-3; 29-Filippo Volandri (Italy) beat Paul Capdeville (Chile) 6-3, 7-5, 6-3; Juan Monaco (Argentina) beat Fabio Fognini (Italy) 3-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4; 7-Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) beat Arnaud Clement (France) 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-2); Konstantinos Economidis (Greece) beat Chris Guccione (Australia) 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-4, 6-1; 1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Michael Russell (US) 6-4, 6-2, 6-4; 19-Guillermo Canas (Argentina) beat Victor Hanescu (Romania) 6-3, 6-1, 6-4; Tommy Robredo (Spain) beat Sergio Roitman (Argentina) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2; Nicolas Lapentti (Ecuador) beat Alexander Peya (Austria) 6-1, 6-4, 2-1 – Peya retired; Thierry Ascione (France) beat Marin Cilic (Croatia) 6-2, 6-2, 6-1; Simone Bolelli (Italy) beat Martin Verkerk (Netherlands) 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.Women’s singles:

First round: Catalina Castano (Colombia) beat Emma Laine (Finland) 1-6, 7-5, 6-4; Andrea Petkovic (Germany) beat Jarmila Gajdosova (Slovakia) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; Olga Savchuk (Ukraine) beat Yaroslava Shvedova (Russia) 7-5, 7-5; 18-Marion Bartoli (France) beat Aravane Rezai (France) 6-2, 6-4; Tzipora Obziler (Israel) beat Melinda Czink (Hungary) 6-3, 6-4; 20-Sybille Bammer (Austria) beat Roberta Vinci (Italy) 6-4, 6-4; 23-Francesca Schiavone (Italy) beat Yvonne Meusburger (Austria) 6-2, 6-4; Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand) beat Casey Dell'Acqua (Australia) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4; Milagros Sequera (Venezuela) beat Virginie Razzano (France) 5-7, 6-3, 9-7; Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) beat Zheng Jie (China) 7-6 (7-3), 6-0; Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (France) beat Anastasiya Yakimova (Belarus) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1; Akgul Amanmuradova (Uzbekistan) beat Vania King (US) 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-3; Shenay Perry (US) beat Olivia Sanchez (France) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; Pauline Parmentier (France) beat Mariya Koryttseva (Ukraine) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5; Maria Kirilenko (Russia) beat Maria Elena Camerin (Italy) 6-3, 6-0; Kveta Peschke (Czech Republic) beat 11-Nadia Petrova (Russia) 7-5, 5-7, 6-0; Nuria Llagostera (Spain) beat Anna Smashnova (Israel) 6-2, 7-5 Mathilde Johansson (France) beat Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Germany) 7-5, 6-4; 13-Elena Dementieva (Russia) beat Angelique Kerber (Germany) 6-3, 6-2; 28-Mara Santangelo (Italy) beat Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) 6-1, 6-4; 6-Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic) beat Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Switzerland) 6-4, 6-3; 4-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) beat Stephanie Foretz (France) 6-2, 6-2.—Agencies