Juan Martin del Potro eases past Nicolas Mahut in French Open first round

Juan Martin del Potro came through his match against Mahut with relative comfort after his difficult start and broke wildcard Mahut's serve five times.

Juan Martin del Potro slams a forehand to Nicolas Mahut during their first round match of the French Open tournament at the Roland Garros stadium. | AP

PARIS: Juan Martin del Potro recovered from a poor first set to beat Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in the French Open first round on Tuesday.

The former US Open champion, who retired injured at the Italian Open earlier this month, had said he would make a last-minute decision on his fitness at Roland Garros.

But the Argentinian fifth seed, a semi-finalist in 2009, came through his match against Mahut with relative comfort after his difficult start and broke wildcard Mahut's serve five times.

Del Potro will take on either his compatriot Leonardo Mayer or French veteran Julien Benneteau in round two.