The Long and Short of It at French Open

History was made Tuesday at the French Open, not by a left-handed legend but by two Frenchmen who ventured well into extra time.

Martina Navratilova, 47, was trying to become the oldest female player to win a singles match at a Grand Slam in the Open era. Her effort against Gisela Dulko of Argentina fell far short, Dulko beating Navratilova, 6-1, 6-3, in just more than an hour.

“Short” is not a word anyone would use to describe the incredible combined effort by Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement. Their first-round match -- spread over two days -- lasted 6 hours, 33 minutes, the longest in the Open era. Santoro saved two match points, eventually winning, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 3-6, 16-14. The fifth set lasted 172 minutes.

“There is no better place than here at the French Open to beat such a record,” said Santoro, who celebrated by dropping on his back on Court Suzanne Lenglen and later broke into tears. “ ... It’s an exceptional moment.”

They had stopped about 9:30 p.m. Monday because of darkness, at 5-5, in the fifth set. The previous longest match in the Open era was between John McEnroe and Mats Wilander in a Davis Cup encounter, lasting 6:22 at St. Louis in 1982.

History hardly comforted a devastated Clement.

“What world record? What do I get? A medal? If I’m not getting anything, I’m not interested,” he said. “Anyway, it lasted over two days, so it doesn’t count.”

The festive atmosphere around Roland Garros on Day 2 traveled to the tight confines of Court 1, where Navratilova returned to play her first singles match in Paris since 1994.

Before she was allowed to proceed, Navratilova had to perform some quick handiwork on the back of her cap at the request of the chair umpire, removing a small, unauthorized logo with a pair of scissors.

Unfortunately, her job was more complex against Dulko, and Navratilova even went sprawling into the clay in the second-to-last game, stumbling when chasing a wide shot to her left.

For Navratilova fans, the match tilted between appreciation of her moments of finesse and empathy for her difficulties. It seemed as though the crowd was trying to will her into playing better.

Navratilova was broken in her first two service games and didn’t win a game until 0-4. Her errant service tosses gave her fits, at times.

The second set was better. Navratilova had an inspired stretch, holding at 1-2 and breaking Dulko to go up, 3-2. But she failed to win another game.

“The crowd was great,” she said. “I just wanted to stay out there a little bit longer to give them something to cheer about.”

The 19-year-old Dulko is ranked 64th and reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells in March but had never won a Grand Slam singles match. Before the draw, she said, she had had a premonition about playing Navratilova and told her brother and coach, Alejandro.

“It was weird because at the beginning, I wasn’t nervous,” Dulko said. “At the end, to finish the match, I started to think that I was playing her. Was a strange feeling.”

Someone asked Dulko how old her mother happened to be.

“Forty-seven,” the same as Navratilova, she said, laughing.

The decision to give Navratilova a wild card has been controversial. Some of her colleagues, most prominently, Amelie Mauresmo, objected to Navratilova’s getting a spot at the expense of a French player. Navratilova was quizzed by a French TV reporter as she was leaving the court.

“ ‘What did you say to the young player that didn’t get in because you got the wild card?’ ” Navratilova said, retelling the conversation.

“I said, ‘I think I earned it. If she won two French Opens and tried to get a wild card at the age of 47, she’ll probably get it too.’ ”

The player next in line, Capucine Rosseau, was not bitter when the French sports daily, L’Equipe, tracked her down Tuesday night.

“I did not believe that Martina Navratilova would have a chance on clay at her age, but I can understand that the French public wanted to see her because she is the image of the whole of tennis,” Rosseau told the newspaper.

Navratilova is weighing grass-court options and will try qualifying at Eastbourne, England.

“I need to win a few matches before I put myself on the line at Wimbledon,” Navratilova said.

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It continued to be a rough tournament for American men. After one round, only two remain, Andy Roddick and Vince Spadea, both winners Monday.

Second-seeded Serena Williams -- appearing in a new fuchsia two-piece outfit -- and No. 4 Venus Williams had little trouble, each winning her match in straight sets, but No. 7 Jennifer Capriati survived a major scare, defeating 20-year-old Yulia Beygelzimer of Ukraine, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, rallying from an 0-3 third-set deficit.

Defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, who on Sunday was in serious doubt about playing, pushed forward and won his first-round match against Tommy Haas of Germany, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, needing a painkilling injection beforehand for his sore ribs.

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At a Glance

Highlights from Day 2:

* Men’s seeded winners: No. 1 Roger Federer, No. 4 Juan Carlos Ferrero, No. 8 David Nalbandian, No. 10 Sebastien Grosjean, No. 12 Lleyton Hewitt, No. 14 Jiri Novak, No. 19 Martin Verkerk, No. 20 Marat Safin, No. 23 Feliciano Lopez, No. 24 Jonas Bjorkman, No. 25 Ivan Ljubicic, No. 26 Albert Costa, No. 28 Gustavo Kuerten.

* Men’s seeded losers: No. 7 Rainer Schuettler, No. 29 Max Mirnyi, No. 32 Arnaud Clement.

* Women’s seeded winners: No. 2 Serena Williams, No. 4 Venus Williams, No. 6 Anastasia Myskina, No. 7 Jennifer Capriati, No. 11 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 12 Ai Sugiyama, No. 16 Patty Schnyder, No. 17 Francesca Schiavone, No. 20 Conchita Martinez, No. 23 Fabiola Zuluaga, No. 25 Elena Bovina, No. 29 Petra Mandula, No. 30 Mary Pierce.

* Women’s seeded losers: No. 22 Karolina Sprem, No. 26 Nathalie Dechy.

* Stat of the day: 6 hours 33 minutes. Time of the match between Arnaud Clement and Fabrice Santoro, the longest in the Open era, which began in 1968. Santoro won, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 3-6, 16-14. Play was suspended Monday night at 5-5 in the fifth set, and they needed nearly two hours to finish Tuesday.

* Quote of the day: “It’s a one-of-a-kind city, and you need to have a one-of-a-kind outfit.” -- Serena Williams on her fuchsia ensemble.

FEATURED MATCHES

* Juan Monaco, Argentina, vs. Guillermo Coria (3), Argentina

* Maria Sanchez Lorenzo, Spain, vs. Lindsay Davenport (5)

* Justine Henin-Hardenne (1), Belgium, vs. Tathiana Garbin, Italy

* Olivier Mutis, France, vs. Andy Roddick (2)