Agassi and Hewitt both through in Paris

The battle for the Champions Race top spot reconvened at the Paris Masters on Tuesday as world number one Lleyton Hewitt and his only challenger, Andre Agassi, both won their second round matches.

On the day the seeds were in action for the first time, there were also wins for Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Dutchman Sjeng Schalken while Argentine David Nalbandian kept alive his unlikely quest for a place in the Masters Cup.

Agassi made hard work of his opener against Argentina's Gaston Gaudio, eventually winning 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. Hewitt, on the other hand, showed no signs of the virus that kept him out of the Masters Series in Madrid, defeating Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 6-4 in little more than an hour.

"You look at this draw and there are no easy matches out there," Agassi said afterwards. "The last thing I was thinking about out there was Lleyton or ending the year at number one, I was just thinking about how to get this guy off of me.

"Today the court should have been perfect for me, he just played really well, stuck at his game and served well, he didn't give me many chances on his serve."

Agassi, winner of the Paris Masters in 1994 and 1999, seemed to be in control of his second round match until an uncharacteristically sloppy second set tiebreak enabled his 23-year-old opponent to level.

BROKE AGAIN

He broke to lead 5-3 in the third set, but immediately lost his own serve before breaking again to clinch an unconvincing victory.

Nalbandian, winner of the Swiss indoor title last week, knows only the title in Bercy will clinch a place in the Masters Cup, and he stayed in contention with a 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 defeat of big-hitting Belarussian Max Mirnyi in a first round match.

The beaten Wimbledon finalist secured a decisive break at 5-5 in the third set to set up a clash with third seed Marat Safin on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day there were mixed fortunes for the French players. Nicolas Escude brushed aside Spain's Felix Mantilla 6-2, 6-1 in a one-sided first round contest but Fabrice Santoro failed to emulate his doubles partner when he slumped to a 6-4, 6-2 defeat at the hands of 20-year-old Spaniard Tommy Robredo.

There was further disappointment for the boisterous Paris crowd later when Arnaud Clement lost a two hour 24 minute battle with giant Dutchman Schalken 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Clement, who suffered from cramps during the match, broke Schalken's serve to lead 3-0 in the final set before being pegged back.

"I have no explanation for today," Clement said. "I didn't really understand why I was cramping, I didn't feel tired, even after the match."

Escude, who won both his singles matches to propel France to a remarkable Davis Cup final victory over Australia last year, blasted 38 winners in a performance of controlled power which would have impressed France's Davis Cup captain Guy Forget.

ENFORCED BREAK

The 26-year-old wildcard, who recently returned to action after a stomach injury, broke Mantilla for the second time to clinch the first set before running away with the second set. He will now play another Spaniard, 11th-seeded Albert Costa.

Escude, who played doubles with Santoro on Monday and is tipped to partner him in the Davis Cup final against Russia at Bercy next month, said his enforced break from the game had actually done him some good.

"I stayed one month in Paris on clay and made an enormous effort with my colleagues," he said.

"Now playing indoors I was able to use my own weapons, serve and volley, passing shots but the fact that I worked for one and half months from the baseline improved my game a lot."

The 29-year-old Santoro was broken at 3-3 in the first set and after failing to capitalise on three break points in the next game the Frenchman's game crumbled.

In the meeting of two of the game's brightest new kids on the block, American James Blake fought back to beat Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.

OPPONENT TAMED

The 22-year-old Blake, who plays Carlos Moya next, was forced to dig deep to save a breakpoint at 2-2 in the second set but gradually tamed an opponent who showed signs of fatigue.

Less dramatic was Yevgeny Kafelnikov's 6-3 7-6 victory over Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti, although he did have to save three set points in the second set before becoming the first man into the third round.

Earlier, Swiss Michel Kratochvil's miserable indoor run continued when he was beaten 3-6 6-2 6-2 by Slovakian qualifier Dominik Hrbaty -- his fourth consecutive first-round loss.

Andrei Pavel of Romania booked his place in the second round with a 6-2 6-7 6-2 defeat of Argentine qualifier Guillermo Coria. The 28-year-old will now face in-form fifth seed Czech Jiri Novak.

Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan was handed an easier route into the second round when his opponent Jan-Michael Gambill pulled out with a knee injury when trailing 6-2 1-0.

Marcelo Rios was also forced out with a knee injury against lucky loser Olivier Rochus of Belgium who had replaced the injured Todd Martin in the main draw.