PARIS — Warm, dry weather has made the French Open clay harder and quicker than usual, giving U.S. men a shot at their best Roland Garros in several years. Even Taylor Dent won Monday. It was the first French Open victory for the 12th-year pro.
"Better late than never, right?" he said.
No. 17-seeded John Isner also reached the second round for the first time, and Mardy Fish won a five-setter in Monday's last match, giving U.S. men a 3-4 record so far. At least one more is sure to get through, too.
On Tuesday, No. 18 Sam Querrey — who's 11-6 on clay this year — takes on Robby Ginepri in an all-American matchup. No. 6 Andy Roddick, who reached the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time in 2009, faces Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, and Michael Russell also plays Tuesday. U.S. men already are assured of an improvement on last year, when they went 2-7 in the first round. Only four Americans have reached the men's third round since 2006. While the French Open has been the Americans' worst major tournament of late, Dent said it's wrong to think they don't care about Roland Garros. "It is a Grand Slam," Dent said. "We love coming over here and playing. There's no doubt about it, and there's nothing more that Americans love than to come over here and win matches. We always have that label, like, 'Oh, you're American. First round, see you later.' So I think we get a lot of pride from winning matches here."
The 29-year-old Dent, playing the tournament for only the third time, is a former top-25 player who hits a heavy slice backhand and charges the net at every opportunity. He found the conditions to his liking as he beat Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
"It's almost like a hard court out there," he said. "If it's fast, it's ideal for the Americans, more so than any other type of players out here.
U.S. women have fared better lately in Paris, although it has been eight years since their most recent French Open championship, won by Serena Williams. She began her bid for a 13th Grand Slam title by defeating Stefanie Voegele, and Melanie Oudin of Marietta, Ga., lost to Anabel Medina Garrigues 7-5, 6-2.