Wake-up call for Nadal

Defending champion and favourite stretched to five sets in first round; Ivanovic crashes out.

Rafael Nadal excelled when he needed to most,winning the final two sets against John Isner on Tuesday to advance to the second round at the French Open with a 6-4,6-7 2,6-7 2,6-2,6-4 victory. The five-time champion,who is now 39-1 at Roland Garros,played a five-set match at Roland Garros for the first time in seven visits.

Always its very,very close match against John because with his serve he arrives to the tiebreak and you play under pressure all the time, Nadal said. For moments in the tiebreak I didnt play very well. I was probably too nervous.

Nadal last lost a set at the French Open in 2009,when he was eliminated by Robin Soderling in the fourth round. He had never previously dropped a set in the first or second round. The top-seed is trying to equal Bjorn Borgs record of six French Open titles. Also advancing to the second round were Australian Open finalists Andy Murray and Li Na,as well as Maria Sharapova and two-time finalist Robin Soderling.

Nadal came into the tournament after losing to Novak Djokovic on clay in finals in Rome and Madrid. But the top-ranked Spaniard is still considered by many to be the favourite at Roland Garros. That didnt seem to matter to Isner,the man best known for playing in the longest tennis match in history last year at Wimbledon.

Despite losing the first set,the tall American held strong and forced Nadal into a pair of tiebreakers,where his big serve helped him put Nadal on the defensive. But with only six unforced errors the rest of the way none in the fourth set Nadal proved he is still the man to beat on clay.

Chasing elusive Slam

Sharapova,who was coming off the biggest clay-court title of her career,rolled into the second round by beating Mirjana Lucic of Croatia 6-3,6-0. The seventh-seeded Russian won the Italian Open before coming to Roland Garros to seek the only Grand Slam title she has never won.

If you feel pressure,its part of the business. Its part of the sport, Sharapova said of the expectations placed on her. That means theres something on the line. That means you want it bad. Its how you handle it. Without pressure,whats the sport about? Its how you really handle the situation.

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Against Lucic on centre court,Sharapova was not troubled. She won nine straight games to finish the match and never faced a break point. The sixth-seeded Li,who became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam final,won 6-3,6-7 6,6-3 over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic. Belgian Kim Clijsters also advanced,getting past Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus 6-2,6-3.

Emotional experience

But first on Court Philippe Chatrier,an emotional Virginie Razzano played despite the death of her fiance eight days ago. The Frenchwoman,playing with a black ribbon on her shirt,lost to 24th-seeded Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia 6-3,6-1. I felt a lot of emotion,a lot of pain on court today, Razzano said.

The pain is permanent within me. Its very hard. But it felt good to be surrounded by so many people and to be here. I tried to pay tribute to Stephane today. It was almost a mission impossible, but I did my best. Razzanos fiance and coach Stephane Vidal died on May 16 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour nine years ago.

Former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic also lost. The 20th-seeded Serb,who won the title in 2008,fell to Johanna Larsson of Sweden 7-6 3,0-6,6-2. Murray made it through to the second round by beating French qualifier Eric Prodon 6-4,6-1,6-3. Fifth-seeded Soderling beat American Ryan Harrison 6-1,6-7 5,6-3,7-5.