Hewitt limps out of Paris on starless Sunday

Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt joined the French Open casualty list yesterday as the second Grand Slam of the season endured a low-profile, star-stripped start.

Heavyweight talents such as defending champion Rafael Nadal, world number two Novak Djokovic and 16-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer, as well as women’s top seed Caroline Wozniacki, were all excused from action yesterday.

Hewitt, 30, one of the few marquee names on the day’s agenda, was forced to withdraw with a left ankle injury.

His pull-out was the latest injury setback for organisers after fellow former world number ones Andy Roddick and Juan Carlos Ferrero were sidelined with injuries.

Spanish seventh seed David Ferrer, the highest-ranked man on duty, breezed past Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to maintain his record of having never failed to get beyond the first round.

The 29-year-old, who was runner-up to Nadal on clay at Monte Carlo and Barcelona this year, will tackle France’s Julien Benneteau who beat Rui Machado 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 for a place in the last 32.

France’s 17th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also progressed with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Czech world number 121 Jan Hajek, who has yet to win on the ATP tour in 2011.

In the women’s event, last year’s beaten finalist Samantha Stosur and former world number one Jelena Jankovic led the way into the second round.

Eighth seed Stosur, the highest-seeded woman in action on the tournament’s first day, defeated Czech Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-3 to set up a clash with Romanian teenager Simona Halep, who she beat in last year’s first round.

Jankovic, beaten by Stosur in the semi-finals 12 months ago, overcame Ukrainian Alona Bon-darenko 6-3, 6-1.

Stosur, returning to the scene of her defeat by Francesca Schiavone in last year’s final, was broken in her opening service game on Court Philippe Chatrier but broke straight back before romping to a 4-1 lead.

The 27-year-old Australian converted her second set point when Benesova, the world number 52, miscued a stretching forehand and Stosur concluded a straightforward victory with a love service game in the second set.

“Overall I’m getting better and better,” said Stosur, who lost to Maria Sharapova in the Rome Masters final earlier this month.

“I hope I’m becoming a better player, a more complete player as each year goes on. This time last year I played some of the best matches of my career and hopefully I can do that again this week.”

Alize Cornet became the first French woman into the second round, the world number 80 beating Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2.

Schiavone begins her title defence against American 19-year-old Melanie Oudin today, with Wozniacki kicking off her campaign against 40-year-old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm.