Tennis:Rafael Nadal was taken the distance at the French Open for the first time today as he narrowly kept his hopes of a record-equalling sixth title alive. Big-serving American John Isner had the defending champion on the ropes in the very first round at Roland Garros but Nadal came from two sets to one down to win 6-4 6-7 (2/7) 6-7 (2/7) 6-2 6-4.
It was the first time in 40 French Open matches that Nadal had been taken to a fifth set. He had won 38 of his previous 39, his only defeat coming to Robin Soderling in four sets in 2009.
Things began normally enough for Nadal, who broke Isner's serve in the ninth game of the first set before serving out for a one-set lead. However, after Nadal had broken again at the start of the second set, the Isner fightback began.
Famous for winning the longest match in tennis history at Wimbledon last year, Isner broke back and then won the resultant tie-break.
Nadal had won the 2010 title without dropping a set in the entire tournament, yet here he was in his first match 12 months on, already facing a real battle after letting two set points slip in the third at 5-6.
Isner saved both with big serves and his booming deliveries continued in the tie-break to open his shock lead. The alarm bells were now ringing for Nadal but he did not panic and hit back with an excellent fourth set that yielded not a single unforced error from the Spaniard's racquet.
With Isner's serve not so potent now, Nadal then broke to love in the third game of the decider and managed to hold onto his advantage before launching into an exuberant celebration, reminiscent of some of his greatest days on Court Philippe Chatrier.
In contrast, last year's semi-finalist Jurgen Melzerhad few problems as he got his 2011 campaign under way. He was arguably the story of last year's tournament, enjoying a surprise run to the last four, beating current golden boy Novak Djokovicen route.
Seeded eighth this year, the Austrian started his latest Roland Garros bid with a comfortable 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Andreas Beck.
Melzer made just 15 unforced errors in the match - his opponent hit 34 - and dropped his serve only once en route to the second round.
Next up for Melzer will be a meeting with either wild card Edouard Roger-Vasselin or qualifier Lukas Rosol.
Earlier, Andy Murraysaw off a 29-year-old local who had only won one match on the main tour.
Murray progressed 6-4 6-1 6-3 against Eric Prodon, who had only made three previous appearances in a grand slam, all at Roland Garros.
Murray did not need to produce his best against the slightly rotund Prodon, who broke in the first set with a drop shot after a series of half-hearted attempts. The Scot found more rhythm in the second but was broken again in the third set as Prodon's remarkably laidback but occasionally successful volleys and smashes amused the fans.
"It was a tough match. There was no rhythm really to the match. He didn't want to have any long rallies so he was hitting a lot of drop shots and going for his shots. He'd change the rhythm or change the pace of the ball a lot.
"I was annoyed with the way I was moving. I was hitting the ball well from the back of the court, especially towards the end of the match, and I served well, but I didn't move particularly well."
There was a surprise defeat for claycourt specialist Nicolas Almagro. The 11th seed blew a two-set lead as he lost 3-6 2-6 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 to Lukas Kubot.
Spaniard Almagro appeared to be cruising to victory when he won the first two sets. However, Kubot, better known for his doubles exploits, dug deep to win both the third and fourth sets on a tie-break.
Despite the momentum swing, Almagro still fashioned himself another winning position in the decider by racing into a 3-0 lead. However, Kubot was not to be denied a famous comeback win and clinched it after three hours and 50 minutes on court.