Spanish tennis seized a rare opportunity to step out of Rafael Nadal's imposing shadow by enjoying a five-man sweep into the French Open second round on a low-key, star-stripped Sunday.With top seed and five-time champion Nadal not on duty until Tuesday, seventh-seed David Ferrer led the Spanish charge, ably supported by veteran Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Pere Riba and Albert Montanes.Ferrer, the highest-ranked man on the wind-swept Roland Garros courts, breezed past Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to maintain his record of having never failed to get beyond the first round.The 29-year-old, who was runner-up to Nadal on clay at Monte Carlo and Barcelona this year, will tackle France's Julien Benneteau for a place in the last 32."I always hope I get good performances in Paris," said Ferrer, twice a quarter-finalist.Ramirez Hidalgo belied his 33 years to knock out Croatian 19th seed Marin Cilic 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-4, the only male seeded casualty on the first day.
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