Hewitt fights back to beat Gaudio
Hewitt took nearly three and a half hours to seal victory The 14th seed won 4-6 3-6 6-2 6-4 6-2 to book his place in the third round.Gaudio showed glimpses of the form which won him the title in 2004 as he took the first two sets, firing a series of spectacular backhand winners.But he wilted dramatically and Hewitt pounced, delivering an impressive 20 aces on his way to victory.Gaudio, 28, has hinted that this will be his last French Open and, after losing his way so spectacularly
against Hewitt, he is unlikely to change his mind.The Argentine, now ranked 72 in the world after reaching a high of five, was cruising at two sets to love up but he never recovered from dropping serve at 1-1 in the third set - his three double faults gifting Hewitt the game.The Australian, who completed victory in three hours and 28 minutes, could face Rafael Nadal in the last 16 if he gets past Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen in his next match.Elsewhere on Thursday, sixth seed needed four sets to see off the lowest ranked player in the tournament before making it into round three.The Serb won the first set against qualifier Laurent Recouderc fairly easily before the Frenchman won four games in a row to take the second set.Djokovic looked rattled but held his nerve to secure a 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-1 and for a place in the third round.His next opponent will be either Olivier Patience or Mariano Zabaleta.