=== Del Potro, Tsonga, Ferrero win at Roland Garros; Roddick bows out ===
 
 Paris,  France  (Sports Network)  - French  crowd favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga,
 Juan  Martin  del Potro of  Argentina and  former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero
 were among Sunday's first-round winners at the French Open in Paris.
 
 Meanwhile, American Andy Roddick was knocked out.
 
 Tsonga, the No. 5 seed, handled Russian Andrey Kuznetsov 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 at
 the world's lone clay-court major.
 
 Tsonga  hasn't fared  well at his native  Grand Slam -- a pair of fourth-round
 appearances  are  his best  results in four  previous visits --  and he felt a
 little off Sunday, at least during some of the match.
 
 "I  had  a  feeling I  was  not  hitting  that  well. I  was  always  fighting
 difficulties,"  Tsonga said.  "I was  not right  on my  stance because  he was
 playing very deep.
 
 "In intensity, I was OK. I had break points right from the beginning."
 
 Next  up for  Tsonga is German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, who was leading Joao Souza
 6-3, 2-0 when the Brazilian retired.
 
 The  ninth-seeded del Potro beat Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2,
 6-1. Del Potro was a French Open semifinalist in 2009.
 
 Del Potro will do battle with Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the second round after
 the Frenchman beat Vasek Pospisil of Canada 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
 
 Ferrero,  whose only Grand  Slam title came back in 2003 on the famed red clay
 at  Roland  Garros, defeated  Frenchman Jonathan Dasnieres  de Veigy 6-1, 6-4,
 6-3.
 
 Frenchman  Nicolas  Mahut took down  Roddick, the No.  26 seed, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6,
 6-2.
 
 Roddick,  who  didn't play at Roland  Garros last year, has reached the second
 week in Paris just once in 10 trips -- a fourth-round exit in 2009. He said he
 couldn't carry over the momentum from winning the third set.
 
 "It  fell  apart pretty quick," said  Roddick. "You never feel real good about
 your chances down two sets. That's not where you want to be."
 
 There  were two  matches  that were  suspended  due to  darkness  and will  be
 completed on Monday.
 
 No.  31  seed Kevin Anderson  of South Africa and  Rui Machado of Portugal are
 deadlocked  7-6  (7-2), 6-7  (6-8), 4-6,  6-1, 7-7 while  Pole Lukasz Kubot is
 leading Slovakian Karol Beck 7-5, 6-2, 4-4.
 
 Croatian  Marin  Cilic, the  No. 21  seed, handled Daniel  Munoz-De La Nava of
 Spain 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. Cilic will face Ferrero in the second round.
 
 The  14th-seeded Fernando Verdasco defeated Belgium Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-2, 7-6
 (7-4),  while  18th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland outlasted Italian
 Flavio Cipolla 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-2.
 
 In  other  first-round action,  Nicolas Devilder of  France cruised past Filip
 Krajinovic  of Serbia  6-2, 6-2,  6-0, Gilles  Muller of  Luxembourg outlasted
 Igor  Sijsling of  the Netherlands  2-6, 7-5,  3-6, 6-4,  8-6, Spaniard  Pablo
 Andujar  discarded  Victor  Hanescu  of  Romania  6-1,  2-6,  1-6,  6-3,  6-1,
 German  Michael  Berrer dispatched  No. 30  seed Jurgen  Melzer of Austria 6-7
 (5-7),  4-6,  6-2, 6-2, 6-3  and Fabio Fognini  of Italy beat Frenchman Adrian
 Mannarino 6-0, 7-5, 6-1.
 
 Six-time  champion Rafael  Nadal beat 2009 winner Roger Federer in last year's
 final  to capture  a second straight French Open title. Nadal shares the men's
 record, along with Bjorn Borg, with his six Open Era championships here.
 
 Nadal  has been  the runner-up to Novak  Djokovic in the last three Grand Slam
 finals overall, including this year's Australian Open.
 
 The 2012 Roland Garros titlist will win $1.57 million.
 
 05/27 20:39:25 ET

Powered by The Sports Network.