Kuerten Makes an Emotional Exit

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Brazilian wild card Gustavo Kuerten made an emotional exit in his first Roland Garros appearance for three years Sunday.

The three-time former champion retired from professional tennis after losing to No. 18 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round. Kuerten received a standing ovation when he stepped onto and left Philippe Chatrier Court.

The 31-year-old Kuerten, one of seven players to win the Roland Garros title three or more times, was competing at his first Grand Slam since the 2005 US Open due to ongoing rehabilitation after a hip injury. He captured his first title in 1997 (d. Bruguera) and clinched back-to-back crowns in 2000 (d. Norman) and 2001 (d. Corretja).

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It was only the 19th tournament since Kuerten underwent his second hip surgery in September 2004. Mathieu broke the Kuerten serve five times from 11 opportunities and hit 13 winners and 13 unforced errors. The 26-year-old Frenchman reached the Munich semifinals (l. to Bolelli) earlier this month and improved to 16-13 on the season.

Tenth-seeded Scot Andy Murray was forced to work against 17-year-old French wild card Jonathan Eysseric for his first career win at Roland Garros. Having missed the second major championship of the year due to a right wrist injury, the 21-year-old looked ill at ease during his 6-2, 1-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory on Suzanne Lenglen Court.

It was his first Grand Slam win of the year, after losing to eventual runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open first round. Murray, who has been working with two-time former Roland Garros finalist Alex Corretja during the European clay-court season, has won two ATP titles this year at Doha (d. Wawrinka) and Marseille (d. Ancic). He has a 20-9 record on the season.

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