PARIS — Close doesn’t count. Roger Federer knows that as well as anyone.
Still, even Federer had to acknowledge he found himself in a much tighter and tougher match than he would have expected — or is used to — in the French Open’s second round Thursday before producing a 7-6 (8), 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory over Jose Acasuso of Argentina.
How near did the 45th-ranked Acasuso come to a startling upset — in straight sets, no less? On four occasions, the Argentine was a point from taking the first set. After winning the second, he held a set point in the third.
Second-seeded Federer was up to the task each time, though.
“Mentally, I’ve always been very strong, but I’m not being put in a position like this very often, you know,” Federer said.
“I thought,” Acasuso said, “I could have won this match.”
But this has not been a French Open for underdogs or upsets, and no seeded men lost Thursday, when the winners included No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 6 Andy Roddick, No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 11 Gael Monfils and No. 16 Tommy Robredo.
Four seeded women went home, though none higher than No. 13 Marion Bartoli. Those moving into the third round included both Williams sisters — Venus needed three sets, Serena two — No. 5 Jelena Jankovic, No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 4 Elena Dementieva, who advanced when Jelena Dokic stopped playing because of a bad back while leading 6-2, 3-4.
The day’s biggest surprise might have been how well Roddick played, given that he hadn’t made the third round at Roland Garros since his 2001 tournament debut.
“There’s a lot of work to go,” said Roddick, the only U.S. man remaining in the tournament. “By no means have I accomplished anything yet.”
In his 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (2) win over 85th-ranked Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic, Roddick hit 15 aces, saved all four break points he faced and won the point on 23-of-26 trips to the net.
“I’m not going to sit here and jump up on a soap box like I’m really good on this stuff now because I won two matches,” Roddick said.
At a glance
A look at the French Open on Thursday:
How the top seeds fared: Men — No. 2 Roger Federer, No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 6 Andy Roddick, No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko advanced; there were no seeded losers. Women — No. 2 Serena Williams, No. 3 Venus Williams, No. 4 Elena Dementieva, No. 5 Jelena Jankovic, No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 10 Caroline Wozniacki advanced; No. 13 Marion Bartoli and No. 18 A. Medina Garrigues lost.
Stat of the day: 1 — Match point saved by Venus Williams in her 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-5 victory over Lucie Safarova.
Quote of the day: “I’m angry, because even though it was Federer, it was a near-miss. I was so close to winning this match.” — Jose Acasuso, after his 7-6 (8), 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-2 loss to Federer
On court today: No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. Lleyton Hewitt, No. 3 Andy Murray vs. Janko Tipsarevic; No. 1 Dinara Safina vs. No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, No. 3 Venus Williams vs. No. 29 Agnes Szavay, Maria Sharapova vs. Yaroslava Shvedova.
Today’s TV: 3 a.m.-10 a.m., Tennis Channel; 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., ESPN2.
The Associated Press
