Andy Roddick's preparation for French Open 2010

From purely tennis perspective, Andy Roddick's preparation for French Open 2010 was traditional, or in other word, ideal.

He skipped a clay-court event in Rome so he could celebrate his one-year wedding anniversary with his wife, Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model Brooklyn Decker. He missed another tuneup tournament in Madrid because of a stomach virus.

Scrambling to get set, Roddick played a couple of hastily arranged exhibitions and practiced a bunch at Roland Garros with fellow pro Mardy Fish, a pal since high school. If Roddick felt he needed more match time on his least favorite surface, he accumulated it in a hurry Tuesday, digging himself out of a hole and coming back to beat Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the French Open's first round.

"It's kind of like when you miss an assignment in school, and they give you a chance to get extra credit. I've been trying real hard to get extra credit ... and I definitely wasn't match-tough," the sixth-seeded Roddick said. "There was a lot of ugliness out there today. But at the end of it, I get to play again."

So does a group of other Americans: Roddick and Fish are among five U.S. men into the second round, equaling the largest contingent at this Grand Slam tournament since six made it in 1998. Robby Ginepri knocked off 18th-seeded Sam Querrey 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-2 in an all-American match Tuesday, while John Isner and Taylor Dent won Monday.

Roddick's was not the only successful return Monday, when winners included four-time French Open champions Justine Henin and Rafael Nadal, as well as Maria Sharapova, who's won the other three major tournaments.

Playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2007, Henin beat Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-3 to run her winning streaks at her favorite event to 22 matches and 37 sets.

Henin won titles at Roland Garros in 2003 and 2005-07, before taking a 20-month hiatus from tennis, and while she said before the event that she does not consider herself the defending champion, her skills make her a serious contender for another trophy.