Roddick can play on clay. Five of his 17 career titles have come on the surface, most recently at Houston last month. But he lost consecutive clay-court matches -- in Rome and Hamburg -- before coming to Paris.
"Obviously, this has been the biggest challenge for me," he said. "I'm going to give it a go."
Agassi out
Andre Agassi, the oldest player at the French Open, felt his age Tuesday. Hobbled by an inflamed nerve in his back that dates back months, Agassi lost in the opening round for the second year in a row. He didn't request treatment from a trainer, but rarely ran after shots in the final two sets and lost to Finnish qualifier Jarkko Nieminen 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-0.
The 35-year-old Agassi said the injury flared up in the third set.
"The nerve in my back started getting inflamed and sending pain all the way down my leg, and it was getting worse by the minute," he said. "To serve was painful, to move, to stand and even to sit. It was getting worse and worse."
Agassi said a cortisone injection he received in February alleviated the symptoms for a while, but his back began to bother him again about a month ago. He said he might need another shot to compete at Wimbledon.
"I have every intention of playing," he said. "Something tells me I'm at the stage of my career where I'm going to be living with these injections."
Agassi set an Open era record for men by playing in his 58th major event. He has lost in the opening round nine times. At Roland Garros, he failed to reach the third round for the seventh time in 16 appearances, but he won the tournament in 1999 to complete a career Grand Slam.
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