Agassi sets his feet firmly on Parisian clay

But while Agassi and Capriati were all smiles, it was a different story for Henman out on Suzanne Lenglen court where he lost for the second time against Belgian Xavier Malisse to record his worst result here since 1998 when he lost in the first round. He went one round better this time, but the number six seed still looked completely out of his depth on the slow, red clay as he went down to a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 defeat after a 3hr 3min struggle.

Henman, 27, who had been confident of progressing into the second week here, must be sick of the sight of Malisse having lost to him at the US Open last year when the Belgian was being coached by Henman’s former mentor David Felgate. Malisse, the 21-year-old world number 46, will now take on either Spain’s Albert Portas or America’s Cecil Mamiit in the next round Meanwhile, top seed Capriati struggled with her serve but still kept her French Open dream alive by moving into the third round of Roland Garros.