Top seed and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten blasted his way into the third round of the French Open with a straight sets victory over Argentine Agustin Calleri. The result marked Kuerten's second straight sets victory of the tournament so far and although he suffered one shaky moment, when his serve was broken while 5-2 up in the second set, it proved a comfortable win for the two-time champion.
"I think the experience I have gained here in the past has helped me," Kuerten said. "It was special out there today. Paris is like my second home," he said.
Meanwhile, fourth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero also enjoyed a comfortable passage into the third round with an easy straight-sets victory over South Africa's Marcos Ondruska. The Spaniard looked a different class to his opponent as he overcame him 6-2 6-2 6-0. His continued success confirms that the problems Ferrero was having with his fitness ahead of the year's second Grand Slam event have disappeared.
The 21-year-old has won three claycourt events already this season and now has his eye on a possible semi-final rematch with Kuerten, who beat him at that stage 12 months ago.
"Physically, I'm fine," said Ferrero. "But I haven't been called on to test it in a tough game yet. The injury was a worry but I was able to take some complete rest after Hamburg and not worry about practising too much as I was already in a good rhythm from playing so many games. It's good to win your early games in straight sets to save energy for the later rounds." Ferrero will now take on fellow Spaniard Jacobo Diaz in the next round.
Second round results: Bohdan Ulihrach (Cze) beatt Mariano Puerta (Arg) 2-6 6-3 6-3 6-3
Andy Roddick (USA) beat Michael Chang (USA) 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-7 (5/7) 7-5
Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) beat Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 6-0 6-1 6-3
Tommy Robredo (Spa) bt Jean-Rene Lisnard (Fra) 6-3 6-3 6-0
Thomas Enqvist (Sweden) beat Jose Acasuso (Argentina) 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-5
Tommy Robredo (Spain) beat Jean-Rene Lisnard (France) 6-3 6-3 6-0
Jiri Novak (Czech Republic) beat Cedric Pioline (France) 2-6 6-4 6-2 7-5
Karim Alami (Morocco) beat Harel Levy (Israel) 6-4 0-0 retired injured
Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Russia) beat Cecil Mamiit (U.S.) 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-2)
Olivier Rochus (Belgium) beat Dominik Hrbaty (Slovakia) 2-6 6-4 6-4 6-4
Gustavo Kuerten (Brazil) beat Agustin Calleri (Argentina) 6-4 6-4 6-4
Michael Russell (U.S.) beat Sergi Bruguera (Spain) 4-6 5-7 6-3 0-0 retired injured
Guillermo Canas (Argentina) beat Alberto Martin (Spain) 6-2 4-6 6-2 2-6 6-4
Jacobo Diaz (Spain) beat Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) 3-6 7-5 6-3 6-4
Tim Henman (Britain) beat Sjeng Schalken (Netherlands) 6-4 6-2 6-2
Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) beat Marcos Ondruska (South Africa) 6-2 6-2 6-0
Xavier Malisse (Belgium) beat Kristian Pless (Denmark) 4-0 retired injured
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
