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Hewitt Wins, Gonzo, Baghdatis Upset at Roland Garros
Posted on June 2, 2006
 No. 14 seed Lleyton Hewitt, who entered Roland Garros with an 0-1 record on clay in 2006 due to injury, advanced into the third round Thursday with a comprehensive 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win over French wildcard Mathieu Montcourt.
"Coming in here a week ago I wasn't sure if I'd be able to play, so it's obviously good to be through to the third round," Hewitt said. "I haven't wasted a lot of energy so far, got matches under my belt. We'll see what happens from here, though...The ankle's still not 100 percent, but I'm getting through, doing all I need to right at the moment. I've played with pain before."
Hewitt will next face No. 22 seed Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, who needed five sets to tame tour ace leader "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, and will likely be the Aussie's first opponent experienced enough to apply tactics regarding the Aussie being adverse to creating his own pace.
Other seeds safely into the third round Thursday were (4) Ivan Ljubicic (d. O.Hernandez in four), (7) Tommy Robredo (d. Bozoljac in four), (11) Radek Stepanek (d. Sanguinetti), (23) Tommy Haas (d. German countryman Waske in four), (25) Gael "Force" Monfils (d. Norman in five), (27) Olivier Rochus (d. Vanek), (29) Paul-Henri Mathieu (d. French countryman Serra), and (31) Dmitry Tursunov (d. Henman in four).
Turning the three upsets on the day were Serb comer Novak Djokovic who outlasted (9) Fernando Gonzalez 6-1 in the fifth; Frenchman Julien Benneteau who likewise outlasted (19) Marcos Baghdatis in five; and unheralded Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello, who stunned the locals by taking out favored son (21) Sebastien Grosjean in five.
Winners in all-unseeded matches were Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (d. C.Rochus who retired with injury) and Al Martin (d. Kindlmann).
No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal vs. Kevin Kim was postponed until Friday due to darkness and rain pushing back the schedule, while contests postponed mid-match were Nicolas Almagro leading (8) James Blake 7-6(5); (15) David Ferrer leading Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 6-4; and (28) Fernando Verdasco tied with Juan Monaco 6-4, 4-6, 2-2.
Friday's highlights are (1) Federer vs. (32) Massu, (2) Nadal vs. K.Kim, (3) Nalbandian vs. (31) Tursunov, (6) Davydenko vs. Moya, (7) Robredo vs. Dlouhy, and (10) Gaudio vs. (24) Ferrero in a battle of former Roland Garros champs.
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