Lleyton Hewitt is through to the second round of the French Open with a hard fought win over local wildcard Arnaud Di Pasquale.

Hewitt raced through the first set, but battled to overcome the world No.423 6-0 7-6(7-5) 4-6 6-1.

Hewitt, seeded 12, and Nicole Pratt are the only Australians to get through to the second round following losses to Alicia Molik and Samantha Stosur.

While Hewitt's trademark returns and baseline scrambling won him many points, he struggled on serve against the Frenchman who was returning to tennis after a year-long absence with a shoulder injury.

Hewitt had to save seven break points in the first set, was broken when he served for the second set and only held his serve once in the third.

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