Ferrer wins, Karlovic knocks off Dimitrov in Paris

Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - David Ferrer was among the early winners in men's first-round action at the French Open on Tuesday, while Ivo Karlovic knocked out 11th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.

Ferrer, this year's fifth seed and the French Open runner-up last year, cruised to a 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Dutchman Igor Sijsling. The Spaniard reached his first Grand Slam final last year in Paris, doing so without dropping a set, then was simply outclassed by countrymate Rafael Nadal in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 rout.

Karlovic, meanwhile, was coming off a runner-up finish at the French Open tune-up in Dusseldorf last week and carried that momentum into Tuesday with a 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Dimitrov. The big-serving Croat had won just two matches in eight previous appearances at Roland Garros.

Dimitrov, meanwhile, hadn't been past the third round in any of his three previous visits to the French capital, but had reached his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal earlier this year at the Australian Open. He also won a French Open tune-up last month in Bucharest and reached the semifinals at the Italian Masters, beating Karlovic in the second round in Rome.

Twelfth-seeded French star Richard Gasquet rolled past enigmatic Aussie Bernard Tomic, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5, while oft-injured one-time world No. 2 Tommy Haas, seeded 16th in Paris, was leading Estonian Jurgen Zopp 5-2 in the first set when the 36-year-old German retired with a right shoulder problem.

Meanwhile, 19th-seeded South African Kevin Anderson got past Frenchman Stephane Robert, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, and American Jack Sock was leading 21st-seeded Nicolas Almagro 5-0 in the first set when the Spaniard retired with an injury on Day 3.

Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat Karlovic for the title in Dusseldorf on Saturday and is seeded 28th in Paris, thumped Spain's Pere Riba, 7-5, 6-4, 6-1, and 32nd-seeded Italian Andreas Seppi also eased past Colombia's Santiago Giraldo in three sets on Tuesday.

Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt lost in the first round at the French for a third straight year, as Argentine Carlos Berlocq grounded the two-time Grand Slam champ, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. Hewitt hasn't reached a French Open quarterfinal since 2004.