ESPN Tennis

PARIS -- Andy Roddick failed to make it through the opening week at the French Open for the fifth time in as many tries, blowing a two-set advantage Thursday and a fifth-set lead against Argentine Jose Acasuso.

Roddick was broken twice after going ahead 3-1 in the last set and lost 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 8-6.

"I thought I had the better of him for the better part of three sets," Roddick said. "Unfortunately, the better part of three sets and three sets is something different."

Roddick's career record at Roland Garros fell to 4-5. His best showing was his first appearance in 2001, when he reached the third round.

The quintessential clay-court marathon began in 86-degree sunshine and ended 3 hours, 21 minutes later on a cloudy but muggy evening. Both weary players required leg massages from a trainer during fifth-set changeovers, Acasuso to his left thigh and Roddick to both calves.

Roddick tried curious tactics on match point, standing 10 feet behind the baseline to receive serve and then hitting two moon-ball backhands. The second landed short, and Acasuso slammed a forehand winner.

Was Roddick attempting to lure Acasuso into going for too much?

"Maybe I was trying to get him to pull the trigger," Roddick said. "I didn't get all of one and hit it short, and that was it."

When Acasuso delivered the knockout blow, he sank to the court on his back in exhaustion and jubilation. Roddick climbed over the net to shake hands.

For the second year in a row -- and only the second time at a Grand Slam event in more than 30 years -- no American men made it out of the second round. James Blake and Vince Spadea also lost Thursday.

"It stinks," Roddick said. "I don't think any of us are happy. We all have a lot of pride, and it has gotten taken down a lot in the last couple of years here."

Acasuso, ranked 62nd, improved his record in Grand Slam events to 5-15 and advanced to the third round at a major tournament for the first time. He won a five-setter for only the second time.

The Argentine hit more aces than the big-serving Roddick, 20 to 13, and repeatedly came up with backhand winners on big points.

The match began to turn when Roddick was broken for the first time to lose the final game of the third set. He lost serve again to fall behind 5-3 in the fourth set, and Acasuso served it out at love by hitting four winners.

With the match on serve three games into the final set, Acasuso requested treatment from a trainer, who massaged and stretched the Argentine's left thigh. Roddick broke serve in the next game, but Acasuso promptly broke back.

With Roddick leading 4-3, he requested his own timeout, grimacing and chewing on a towel as the trainer massaged both calves.

Though tired, both players came up with brilliant shots down the stretch. Acasuso went skidding into the corner to hit a backhand winner, then held out both arms and grinned. Roddick hit three consecutive aces and a nifty volley during one tense sequence.

But missed opportunities hurt Roddick -- he converted just three of 10 break-point chances.

French Open 2004 runner-up Guillermo Coria, seeded eighth, won when 18-year-old qualifier Novak Djokovic retired with an injury trailing 4-6, 6-2, 3-2 on Thursday.

Djokovic said a sinus problem has bothered him for about a year.

"Every time I get to clay and some long points, it gets worse and worse," he said. "I just couldn't breathe after long points."

On the hottest day of the tournament, with sunshine and temperatures in the mid-80s, James Blake blew a two-set lead and lost to Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-7 (9), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4.

Blake had won 14 consecutive matches, including three last week in qualifying. He sat out much of last year because of shingles and a neck injury.

"I've played a lot of tennis lately, and it caught up to me in the third set," Blake said following the three-hour, 42-minute match. "I started cramping a little."

Spadea quit because of a strained stomach muscle while trailing No. 21-seeded Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-3. Spadea estimated he'll be sidelined four to six weeks, which could force him to miss Wimbledon.

No. 3 Marat Safin received treatment from a trainer twice in the first set and still beat qualifier Lukas Dlouhy 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5, 6-1. Dlouhy double-faulted 17 times.

Safin next plays No. 32 Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 champion, who defeated Jan Hernych 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. No. 9 Guillermo Canas beat Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-3, 6-4.

Coria will face Jurgen Melzer in the third round after the Austrian defeated No. 29 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). Canas, a fellow Argentine, awaits Paul-Henri Mathieu of France, who beat Australian qualifier Chris Guccione, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Spadea, who beat 2002 French Open champion Albert Costa of Spain in the first round and was one of three remaining American men in the draw, had been bothered by shoulder and back pain.

Haas awaits No. 12 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, who posted a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 win over Belgian Olivier Rochus.