PARIS -- Andre Agassi caught a break, while Tim Henman's hopes were dashed in the second round on Thursday.

Fourth-seeded Agassi had a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 lead when David Sanchez of Spain retired in the second-round match.

Between the second and third sets, a trainer taped Sanchez's right foot. Late in the third, Sanchez was unable to run down shots from Agassi and after losing the set, he said he could not continue.

``Three sets is three sets. I played three yesterday. It's not the full test,'' Agassi said. ``I felt in a better position than I felt my opponent to be in. I felt like I was getting better as the match was going on.''

Henman, whose semifinalist appearance in Monte Carlo had given him dreams of a Slam on clay, lost a disappointing match to Belgium's Xavier Malisse 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

Henman had hoped to settle an old score with Malisse. In their only previous meeting, at last year's U.S. Open, Henman lost a tough five setter -- a defeat made even more difficult to digest as Malisse had just taken up the services of Henman's former long-time coach David Felgate.

Despite Felgate being out of the equation -- Malisse is now coached by Dean Goldfine -- the 36th ranked Belgian stamped his authority on the contest from the outset.

"There was a lot of good tennis today, but Malisse was better than me, which is why I lost," Henman said.

Second-seeded Marat Safin rallied for a 4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Olivier Rochus.

The 6-foot-4 Safin, who'd been bothered by a pinched nerve in his back, made a diving stab volley at match point and was covered with clay as he went to the net to shake hands with the 5-foot-5 Rochus.

``Small guys have great touch. He's a very talented guy. I'm big, I have power but not touch,'' Safin said. ``So it's split up.''

No. 11 Juan Carlos Ferrero -- a loser to Gustavo Kuerten in the semifinals the past two years -- didn't let a sore ankle stop him from defeating Nicolas Coutelot 6-2 5-7 1-6 6-2 6-0.

Also advancing Thursday were No. 3 Tommy Haas, who beat Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; No. 10 Sebastien Grosjean, who got by American James Blake 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5; and unseeded American Vince Spadea beat Adrian Voinea 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 8-6.

Reuters contributed to this report.