With American Venus Williams having been upset in her first match on Monday, fourth seed Jennifer Capriati of the United States showed she might well challenge Hingis for the title by cruising past France's Emilie Loit, 6-2, 7-5.

On the men's side, third seed Andre Agassi, who arrived in Paris with just one claycourt victory this season, looked as comfortable as he did when he won this championship in 1999, steamrolling past Sweden's Thomas Johansson, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.

"I felt like I was doing everything I needed to do today, I felt very comfortable," Agassi said. "It's going to get a lot tougher, a lot quicker. I need to make sure that I continually execute my game and really allow my shot to start coming out.

"While I haven't had a lot of matches, I do feel like I've come a long way just in my own comfort level out on the court. I'm starting to get more and more comfortable out there."

U.S. Open champion Marat Safin, who has struggled to find his form this season, was far from his best against Markus Hipfl, but the second-seeded Russian still proved too much for the 81st ranked Austrian and hammered out a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 win.

Ninth seed Magnus Norman of Sweden, runnerup at Roland Garros last year, joined the growing list of seeded casualties, squandering a two-set lead and losing 4-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-2 to unheralded Spaniard David Sanchez.