Hewitt overcomes Sa on a rain-hit day

With the momentum clearly in his favour, a pumped up Hewitt bagged the set with a forehand winner after 62 minutes. Sa, whose only previous visit to Roland Garros also ended in the first round in 2000, tried to grab back the initiative by breaking the U.S. Open champion at the beginning of the second.

The Brazilian, however, failed to hold on to the advantage as Hewitt immediately broke back and motored through the set by constantly applying pressure on the Sa serve. Hewitt, who rates clay as his least favoured surface, had to draw on all his experience to out-manoeuvre his 25-year-old opponent in the third. With Sa dictating play from the baseline, Hewitt had to dig his heels deep into the red clay to ensure the match did not go into a fourth. Sa’s resolve finally crumbled at 5-5 when Hewitt blasted a series of ferocious returns to claim the break before serving out for the match.

Easy for Kuerten

Gustavo Kuerten opened the defence of his French crown in fine style on Monday, beating Swiss Ivo Heuberger 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in an opening round centre court clash. The three-times champion, who underwent hip surgery in February, will next face either Italy’s Davide Sanguinetti or Austrian Julian Knowle.

The Brazilian looked completely at ease back at the scene of his greatest triumphs. He is bidding to become the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1978, 1979 and 1980 to win three back-to-back men’s singles titles at Roland Garros. Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson returned to Grand Slam action in style on Monday, beating Argentine claycourt specialist Franco Squillari in straight sets.

VENUS EASES THROUGH: Venus Williams cruised through her first match at the French Open, beating Bianka Lamade 6-3, 6-3, but said she was still suffering from the wrist injury that blighted her build-up to Roland Garros. The Wimbledon and US Open champion took just 65 minutes to dispose of the German on a blustery centre court, becoming the first seed to advance at Roland Garros. (Reuters)