French Open: Simon battles past Hewitt; Ferrer, Raonic advance

Lleyton Hewitt plays a backhand in his match against Gilles Simon during day one of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 26, 2013 in Paris, France. (Getty Images)

On a crisp summer day in Paris, the 112^th edition of the French Open got off to a quiet start. There were a few stutters, but then those expected to prevail did so. One of those persistent warriors from the Australian outback threatened to upend Gilles Simon and open up the draw a little. But the Frenchman managed to strangle him towards the end to eke out a hard fought 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5 victory over Lleyton Hewitt. Fourth seed David Ferrer suffered a mid-match lapse, but recovered quickly to earn a difficult 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win over Marinko Matosevic. As reported earlier, Pablo Carreno-Busta’s spirited challenge was no match for the guile and experience of Roger Federer. The former champion eased into the second round in straight sets.

The 86^th ranked Hewitt is a wounded warrior, who thinks nothing of jumping headlong into battle at the first opportunity. It is as if the pain of struggle is the fix he craves – the 32-year-old asserted himself in spectacular fashion, taking a two-set lead over the 15^th seeded Simon. The stunned Parisian crowd watched in silence as defeat stared Simon in his face.

Hewitt hadn’t ever taken a set off Simon in their three previous meetings, but he broke serve six times in the first two sets to gain control. But then, Hewitt is a tireless soul living in a ravaged shell. It may have been repaired and restored, but the trauma of battle has taken its toll. As a determined Simon stemmed the tide to mount a challenge, Hewitt began to lose his legs.

Simon took advantage to break in the first game of the third set, before going on to build a 3-1 lead. Hewitt nullified the break with one of his own in the sixth game to level the set, but succumbed at 15 in the next game to squander the fruits of his labour. The momentum had swung and Simon took fourteen of the next sixteen games to take a commanding 5-0 lead in the decider.

In typically soldier like fashion, Hewitt put on a final front of bravery as he fought savagely to enthral the sparse but appreciative Sunday crowd. The Aussie even saved a couple of match points in the eighth game as he hung by the thread. The crowd roared their approval when Hewitt drew level at 5-5, but the desperate assault consumed all his energies.

Simon, who had never fought back from a two-set deficit, took the next eight points to clinch a memorable victory. Hewitt left the crowd with plenty of memories too, and one can only wonder if we will see him again at Roland Garros next year. The body might be worn out, but his spirit is still alive. “It’s disappointing, but I obviously didn’t come here with massive expectations,” said Hewitt. “He’s a quality player as well. I was happy for the most part with my ball striking, though.”

Ferrer suffered an early double break in the second set against Matosevic and looked set to face a 0-4 deficit. Matosevic was serving at 40-0 in the fourth game when Ferrer decided to repair his boat. The Spaniard saved all three game points before going on to win eight straight games. The run took Ferrer to 2-0 in the third set, leaving no one in doubt about the result.

Milos Raonic seemed to be in cruise control, dominating Xavier Malisse to take a commanding two-set lead. But the Belgian is an artist when he finds his element and he did so in the third. Malisse disarmed Raonic with his work and the Canadian obliged to surrender the third set. Raonic, though, recovered his poise quickly to take a well-deserved 6-2, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 passage into the second round.

Raonic’s second round opponent – Michael Llodra, also needed four sets and an almost similar scoreline to oust another Belgian to earn his appointed place. Llodra, who has never won against Raonic in three outings, defeated Steve Darcis 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to clinch his place in the next round. South African Kevin Anderson, who could cross Raonic’s path in the third round, scored a 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Illya Marchenko.

Roger Federer plays a forehand during his match against Pablo Carreno-Busta during day one of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 26, 2013 in Paris, France. (Getty Images)

Federer dismissed Carreno-Busta with consummate ease to advance to the second round, but was full of respect for his opponent in the post-match presser. “I thought it was a good match for me,” said Federer. “He’s played many matches and won a lot this year. That really helps your confidence. And he’s played a lot of matches on clay, in comparison with me.”

It took 80 minutes for Federer to complete an emphatic 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 drubbing of his 21-year-old Spanish opponent. The Swiss maestro could reach his 900^th career victory this fortnight as he is just three victories away from joining an elite club consisting of Jimmy Connors (1243), Ivan Lendl (1071) and Guillermo Vilas (924).

Singles – First Round Results:

[2] R Federer (SUI) d. [Q] P Carreno Busta (ESP) 62 62 63[4] D Ferrer (ESP) d. M Matosevic (AUS) 64 63 64[14] M Raonic (CAN) d. X Malisse (BEL) 62 61 46 6[15] G Simon (FRA) d. L Hewitt (AUS) 36 16 64 61 75[18] S Querrey (USA) d. L Lacko (SVK) 63 64 64[20] A Seppi (ITA) d. L Mayer (ARG) 67(4) 64 63 67(2) 64[23] K Anderson (RSA) d. [LL] I Marchenko (UKR) 63 75 64[25] J Chardy (FRA) d. B Becker (GER) 64 62 75[31] M Granollers (ESP) vs F Lopez (ESP) 57 62 46 64 (suspended due to darkness)M Llodra (FRA) d. [Q] S Darcis (BEL) 64 46 61 64V Troicki (SRB) d. J Blake (USA) 64 62 62B Kavcic (SLO) d. [Q] J Duckworth (AUS) 62 62 62[Q] S Devvarman (IND) d. [Q] D Munoz-De La Nava (ESP) 63 63 75J Sousa (POR) d. G Soeda (JPN) 61 63 62R Bautista Agut (ESP) d. G Muller (LUX) 63 64 62J Hajek (CZE) d. D Kudla (USA) 62 57 60 64