Australia's world no. 33 opened his French Open campaign with a straights-set win on Tuesday to join five other Australians in the second round.

Hewitt, seeded 28 at Roland Garros where his best finish has been the quarter-finals in both 2001 and 2004, breezed past Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 7-5 6-0 6-4.

Earlier, Anastasia Rodionova, ranked 92 in the world, defeated Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-3 6-2 in one hour and 21 minutes to get beyond the opening round for the first time in five outings on the Paris clay.

Rodionova will now face another Russian, 21st seed Russian Vera Zvonareva.

Wildcard Jarmila Groth made it four Aussie women in the second round, powering past Taiwan's Yung-Jan Chan 6-2, 6-3 in little more than an hour.

Groth will next face veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm. The 39-year-old Japanese player, who made her debut as Roland Garros in 1989 and was a semi-finalist 15 years ago, stunned former world no. 1 win Dinara Safina 3-6 6-4 7-5 .

Date-Krumm became the second oldest player behind Britain's Virginia Wade, in 1985, to win a women's singles match in Paris since the game turned professional.

Yesterday's winning Australian trio joined Monday's winners Sam Stosur, Sophie Ferguson and Carsten Ball in the second round.

Elsewhere, world No.2 Rafael Nadal defeated French teenager Gianni Mina, ranked 653 places below him, 6-2 6-2 6-2.

But sixth seed Andy Roddick was pushed to five sets by Finn Jarkko Nieminen before prevailing 6-2 4-6 4-6 7-6 6-3.

The 2003 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero cruised past Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas 6-4 6-3 6-1, while fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, the ninth seed, won 6-1 6-3 6-1 against Frenchman David Guez.

In other women's matches, Justine Henin beat Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4 6-3 to reach the second round in her first appearance at the French Open since winning her fourth title in 2007. The 27-year-old Belgian ended a 20-month retirement in January.

Former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova came back from 3-1 down in the first set to beat fellow Russian Ksenia Pervak 6-3 6-2.

The former world number one and a semi-finalist here in 2007 will next face Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens for a place in the last 32.