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Hewitt downs former champ Gaudio

Lleyton Hewitt staged a trademark barnstorming comeback from two sets down yesterday to beat 2004 champion Gaston Gaudio and reach the French Open third round.

Hewitt's marathon 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory was the fourth time in his career that he had performed such a stunning turnaround.

Hewitt was second best in the opening two sets.

The first lasted 62 minutes with the Australian failing to convert any of his four break points before Gaudio soon took a two sets lead.

But Hewitt is the king of lost causes.

He cut back on the unforced errors in the third set and then levelled the contest by snatching the fourth as his opponent's game imploded.

Hewitt broke in the first and fifth games of the decider and took the match with a love service game after three hours 28 minutes.

Hewitt had to come back from two sets down to beat Michael Russell in the first round of this year's Australian Open.

His first such dramatic recovery came against Guillermo Canas in the fourth round here in 2001, and the second was in 2003 when he beat Roger Federer in a Davis Cup semi-final.

Top seeds Roger Federer and Justine Henin both scored straight sets successes on Wednesday to reach the third round of the French Open on a day of few upsets.

The Swiss ace barely broke sweat as he ambled past French wildcard Thierry Ascione 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (10/8).

Women's defending champion Henin had to see off a bold challenge from the youngest player in the women's draw to move closer to her dream of winning a third straight French Open crown.

Having pocketed the opening set, the Belgian then made her class and experience tell by dominating the third set for a 7-5, 6-1 win setting up a third round tie against Mara Santangelo of Italy.

Taiwan's hopes of getting a player into the second round of the singles were dashed when Gisela Dulko of Argentina beat Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday evening.

The 21 year-old world No. 124 has yet to make it past the first round of a Grand Slam tournament.
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