Tennis: It was a typical mildly chaotic scene on Court Suzanne Lenglen yesterday at lunchtime. As Lleyton Hewitt's match against Brian Vahaly ran slightly over its anticipated time and into a fourth set, the mobiles started shrilling, the spectators shifted in their seats, the background chatter levels rose.
Hewitt, knowing the value of short games in the first week, was trying to close out the American and deny the match a fifth set. The French were thinking of their chilled Brouilly.
Moving on to a ball sitting up nicely for a cross-court forehand, Hewitt struck but hit high and wide with the edge of his racquet and watched as it looped over the umpire's chair. He then turned towards the players' box, where his father and coaches sat alongside this stoic, blond figure in a peaked cap and large black sunglasses, his mother.
Momentarily overcome with rage, a puce-faced world number one looked up at his parents and screamed "F*****g shank" before moving on to win 6-4, 6-1, 6-7(8), 6-3 in three hours 13 minutes.
Around the same time, Tim Henman was leaving Court Three having won his first round match against Vladimir Voltchkov in straight sets. A few years back at Wimbledon Henman became angry. So he popped his racquet off the grass and scowled. In the silence that followed, a voice from the back bellowed out in a schoolmaster's voice: "Bee-have, Tim."
Two different personalities, only one has any chance of winning in Paris. At least Henman briefly silenced his army of critics - all of them currently embedded around Roland Garros; the Wimbledon semi-finalist seems to have made a reasonable return after a shoulder operation.
"When you clinched the first set your serve registered 945 kph," said a reporter, in a tongue-in-cheek reference to the moment when the service gun malfunctioned. "I saw you all get excited about that," replied the player. "It was faster than Concorde," said the reporter. "Who'd have thought you'd be saying that about my serve?" said Henman.
If he lasts the week it will be seen as a triumph; if Hewitt does not get into next week it will harm his reputation as a credible French Open contender.
"I didn't feel I had great rhythm today," said Hewitt. "Hopefully it is just something that happened today. I'll get better because of it."
Sixth seed Andy Roddick won't have that opportunity. Nor will Britain's Greg Rusedski. The 20-year-old American followed up last year's first-round exit with a more ignominious departure against 29-year-old Armenian Sargis Sargsian.
Roddick won the first set 6-7, then collapsed for 6-1, 6-2 and 6-4. The Australian Open semi-finalist is being groomed to take over from his compatriot Andre Agassi as a potential Grand Slam winner. But he may have to learn one of Agassi's greatest assets, composure, if he is to stay around for two weeks at Grand Slams.
l Results in SPORTS ROUND-UP
