Third seed Roddick beaten by Andreev in first round

PARIS, May 29 (Reuters) Third seed Andy Roddick was beaten in the first round of the French Open for the fourth time in his career today, ousted 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 by Russian Igor Andreev, the world number 125.

The American, who has never been beyond round three in Paris, led by a set and 4-2 but Andreev hit back to clinch victory in two hours, 43 minutes.

For a set and a half, Roddick looked headed for one of his best wins on his weakest surface but the Russian broke back in the seventh game of the second set and again in the ninth on his way to levelling the match.

As Roddick's frustration grew, Andreev eased through the third set and a double-fault gave the Russian a 2-1 lead in the fourth.

Roddick continued to battle hard and forced a series of break points but Andreev held on to set up a clash with either Chilean Nicolas Massu or Luis Horna of Peru.

REUTERS SAM BST0042