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Temperamental Nalbandian exits early Associated Press PARIS -- Frenchman Nicolas Coutelot delighted fans at Roland Garros by upsetting 2002 Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 6-1. Coutelot, a qualifier, hadn't won a tour-level match all year until this week. "Today is the best memory of my life,'' he said. Nalbandian, seeded eighth, smashed his racket several times. He had a long, heated discussion afterward with Coutelot, who was unhappy Nalbandian didn't receive a warning for his tantrums. "It's not against him, and he understood that,'' Coutelot said. "David is a good friend of mine. ... He just told me, `Come on, don't ask the chair umpire to give a warning. I'm your friend.''' No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt needed 3½ hours to beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Davydenko committed 112 unforced errors to 72 for Hewitt, who was also on the court for more than three hours in the opening round. In other matches, defending champion Albert Costa was extended to five sets for the second straight round. Costa, seeded ninth, outlasted Radek Stepanek 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in 3 hours, 38 minutes.
Three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten, seeded 15th, routed Hicham Arazi 6-1, 6-0, 6-1. No. 3 Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2002 runner-up, advanced when Nicolas Massu retired trailing 6-2, 3-0. Massu came into the match with a sprained left ankle. On remote court 17, No. 24 James Blake lost to big-serving Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4. "I'm definitely at the point where I need to earn my way on to center court,'' Blake said. The match was concluded Thursday after being suspended the previous night at the start of the fourth set because of darkness. Todd Martin lost to No. 25 Tim Henman 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-1, 7-5. That left just two American men advancing to the third round -- Andre Agassi and Vince Spadea. Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, seeded 14th, was upset by Fernando Vicente 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-3. No. 30 Jarkko Nieminen outlasted Julien Varlet 1-6, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4. It was the first time Nieminen has won after losing the first two sets. Also advancing were No. 12 Sjeng Schalken, No. 19 Fernando Gonzalez, No. 20 Felix Mantilla, No. 21 Gaston Gaudio, No. 28 Tommy Robredo and No. 32 Arnaud Clement. Schalken swept Fabrice Santoro 6-1, 6-3, 6-4. Gonzalez eliminated Albert Portas 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Mantilla pulled away from Federico Browne 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Gaudio beat Olivier Mutis 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2. Robredo swept Jonas Bjorkman 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4. Frenchman Clement defeated Lars Burgsmuller 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
Venus struggles to find her game Garber: Agassi lives for another day French Open Lleyton Hewitt needs four sets to beat Nikolay Davydenko. Standard | Cable Modem |
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