A trio of top Frenchmen had their way on day two at the ATP stop in Metz, France. Julien Boutter got the joint jumping with a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(7) victory over former world No. 1
Juan Carlos Ferrero.
For Ferrero it was his second opening-round loss in as many weeks.
Boutter's countryman, No. 5 seed
Richard Gasquet, needed just an hour to wax Russia's Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 6-1. Paul-Henri Mathieu earned his 100th career win after outlasting countryman
Fabrice Santoro 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
It wasn't all good for France as Serbian teen
Novak Djokovic defeated local favorite
Nicolas Mahut 6-2, 6-3 in 65 minutes, and American
Mardy Fish ushered out qualifier
Thierry Ascione 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Also, French qualifier
Cyril Saulnier upset the No. 6 seed
Dominik Hrbaty 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Next up for Saulnier is Germany's
Tobias Clemens, a 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-3 winner over wildcard
Olivier Patience.