Early starts pay off: Russians move ahead at French Open

PARIS -- An early start paid off Wednesday for Nikolay Davydenko, who became the first man to reach the third round of the French Open when Flavio Saretta retired with the flu trailing in the second set.\nSeeded sixth, Davydenko led 6-2, 4-1 when Saretta quit.\n"He was sick already from yesterday," Davydenko said. "We get some long rally. I think he was feeling he cannot like try to play more games."\nSaid Saretta: "I couldn't run anymore."\nThe weather was cool and damp for the fourth day of the tournament, with rain forcing three interruptions. Davydenko played well from the beginning despite an 11 a.m. start.\n"It looks like you're sleeping on the court the first few games because this was too early," Davydenko said.\nAnother Russian, No. 14-seeded Dinara Safina, beat Hana Sromova 6-0, 6-2. Safina hit 31 winners, including six aces.\n"I can say it was an easy match today," Safina said. "I was pretty solid."\nAravane Rezai, a 19-year-old qualifier from France, rallied to upset No. 22 Ai Sugiyama 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.\n"This is a fabulous moment for me," said Rezai, who is ranked 142nd. "I was playing a match on Court Suzanne Lenglen with a lot of pressure. I started to recover at the end of the second set."\nIn the completion of a suspended match, 16-year-old Alize Cornet of France beat 32-year-old Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.\n"When I realized I was playing someone who was twice my age, it's true that it was quite funny," said Cornet, ranked 243rd.\nNo. 24 Katarina Srebotnik beat Ashley Harkleroad 6-3, 6-2, leaving three Americans in the women's draw. No. 17 Flavia Pennetta defeated Kirsten Flipkens 6-1, 6-0 in 52 minutes.\nDavydenko hit 15 winners to six for Saretta and lost only six points on his serve. A semifinalist last year at Roland Garros, Davydenko won his sixth career title Saturday in Austria.\nHe takes a seven-match winning streak into his next match against No. 30 Carlos Moya, the 1998 champion, who held every service game and beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.\n"I know that I'm not a favorite here," the 29-year-old Moya said. "That changes things for you, because you're not under so much pressure. I think I've still got good tennis to play. ... Playing Davydenko is going to show me where I stand."\nNo. 20 Tomas Berdych swept Filippo Volandri 6-3, 6-1, 6-1.\nFor American men at the French Open, it's the same old story -- even the quotes.\n"Whatever I said last year, just copy it," said Andy Roddick, one of five U.S. first-round losers. "I'm sure it still fits."\nFor the second time since 1967, only two American men advanced to the second round at Roland Garros. It also happened in 2004.\nA year ago, three made it. And Roddick's right: Last year's quote still fits.\n"We all have a lot of pride," he said then, "and it has gotten taken down a lot in the last couple of years here."\nRoddick made his latest hasty exit on a bad ankle, retiring when he trailed Alberto Martin 6-4, 7-5, 1-0 Tuesday. Seeded fifth, Roddick aggravated a sprain he suffered last week and quit in part because he feared making the injury worse.\nBut like his compatriots, Roddick tends to stumble on red clay anyway. He lost in the opening round for the third time in six appearances at Roland Garros, and his career record at his worst Grand Slam event fell to 4-6.\n"I wanted to come out here and at least give it a shot," Roddick said. "I've played through injuries before. But the circumstances here and how much you use that part of your body on this stuff makes it a tough combo."\nPreceding him to the sideline were fellow Americans Paul Goldstein, Vince Spadea, Justin Gimelstob and No. 17-seeded Robby Ginepri.\nTwo years ago, for the first time at a Grand Slam event since 1973, no U.S. men made it to the third round, and it could happen again. The two remaining Americans, No. 8-seeded James Blake and Kevin Kim, face difficult matches Thursday.\nBlake plays Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, who's 19-6 on clay this year. Kim, who lost in qualifying and made the field only because another player withdrew, faces defending champion Rafael Nadal.\nThe French Open has long brought out the worst in U.S. men. Grand Slam champions such as Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors never won at Roland Garros.