Qualifiers, round one: Big names still in the hunt

The first round of men’s qualifiers threw up more than its fair share of suspense, with Belgian Olivier Rochus, Frenchman Thierry Ascione and Slovakia’s Dominik Hrbaty all through to the next round. Roland Garros is upon us! And while some of the big names, such as the Williams sisters and Andy Roddick, are easing their way into the tournament via the practice courts, there has been plenty of live action already, with the first batch of qualifying ties including some titanic struggles. The match of the day was without a doubt Sebastian Decoud versus Jesse Levine, with the Argentinean getting the better of the American – seeded No28 in the qualifiers – 1-6 6-3 10-8 in a little over three hours! Decoud even managed to save a match point at 8-7 down in the decider… Marathon matches Another Argentinean, another epic struggle. Mariano Zabaleta was less fortunate than Decoud however, losing to Belgian No22 seed Olivier Rochus 6-7 6-4 6-4 in 2 hours 52 minutes in a match that would have graced the main draw. Zabaleta was not the only Argentinean to fall at the first hurdle with none other than Guillermo Cañas, a three-time quarter-finalist here at Roland Garros, losing in straight sets to Paolo Lorenzi 6-4, 7-6. There were plenty of spectators in the stands enjoying a sunny day and some excellent matches featuring big names, including former French Open semi-finalist Dominik Hrbaty who sailed through the first round. Many of the local heroes also did themselves and their fans proud, with Sébastien De Chaunac, Nicolas Mahut, Thierry Ascione as well as youngsters Eric Prodon, Stéphane Robert and Mathieu Montcourt all through. The qualifiers for the women's singles will get under way on Wednesday, with 96 ladies looking for one of the 12 golden tickets for the main draw. Poland's Marta Domachowska (WTA No92), Yaroslava Shvedova (96) from Kazakhstan and Italy's Maria-Elena Camerin (98) are among the favourites. Date with destiny There are plenty more big names involved as well, including Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands (currently ranked at 128 after being 30 in February 2008) and Russia's Elena Bovina (152, 14 in April 2005). And then there is Kimiko Date-Krumm, making a comeback at the age of 38. The Japanese player was a semi-finalist here in 1995 and shortly after made it as high as No4 in the world before retiring the following year, only to relaunch her career in April 2008. There will also be eight French players looking for a spot in the main draw, namely Youlia Fedossova, Florence Haring, Aurélie Védy, Karla Mraz, Stéphanie Vongsouthi, Violette Huck, Laura Thorpe and Chloé Babet.