Paris, adieu.

One by one yesterday, the last three American men at the French Open booked their flights for a Memorial Day weekend in the states. Blame injuries, blame exhaustion, blame ineptitude. Whatever cause you prefer, the fact remains that the Americans are not built for clay. Two years running they have been booted from Roland Garros after two rounds, this time losing nine competitors in the span of four days.

Second seed Andy Roddick topped off the dismal day with a depressing five-set loss to Jose Acasuso, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 8-6. Not even the weakest quarter of the draw could save Roddick and the resurgent James Blake, who also wasted a two-set lead to Swiss qualifier Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-7(9), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4, as the 80-degree heat sapped his tired legs of strength. As his compatriots faltered, Vince Spadea wilted, retiring from a back injury after losing two sets to Tommy Haas, 6-4, 6-3.

For about two hours, Roddick looked as comfortable on clay as he does on concrete, playing hard-court tennis, and his Argentine opponent happily played along. The serves were big, the points were short, and easy volleys were plentiful.

If this was not the best Roddick had ever performed on clay, it was close. At times, he served and volleyed; at others, he followed his forehand to the net. The American even controlled points in baseline rallies. In two sets, he faced only one break point. Roddick twice held a break point for 5-4 in the third set, a blow that would have put the match away.

But Acasuso escaped, then broke serve for the third set, aided by a double fault that put Roddick in a 15-40 hole. A mere 27 minutes later, the Argentinean had broken again and taken the fourth set, despite winning only five points on Roddick’s serve.

By the end, the match had a similar feel to last year’s five-set French Open final between Gaston Gaudio and Guillermo Coria: First it was a blowout, then a struggle, then the sort of loss that deprives its victim of sleep for a week.

“I hate it,” Roddick told reporters after the match. “That pretty much sums it up. I mean, I want to do well here so badly.”

Most frustrating is that the match was played on Roddick’s terms. It lasted only three hours and 21 minutes, and tiring rallies were rare. Though Acasuso at first seemed foolish for playing to Roddick’s strengths, he not only stuck by the strategy, but played more aggressively – and, unfortunately for Roddick, more consistently – with each passing game.

At 6-foot-3, the 22-year-old Acasuso hardly fits the mold of clay-court grinder, even if he prefers dirt above all other surfaces. He displayed a powerful forehand and repeatedly punished Roddick with a flat, one-handed backhand down the line. He out-aced Roddick 20 to 13. He hit 36 more winners (84 to 48) and only 17 more errors (60 to 43). He even charged the net 42 times, winning 30 points (Roddick, at times unwisely, approached even more, winning 47 of 75).

“He pretty much started going for broke on a lot of shots, especially his backhand down the line, even off high balls,” Roddick said. “He started serving a lot better.”

While Acasuso’s aggressive tactics accounted for many winners, Roddick’s footwork and poor decisions played as much of a role in the outcome. Roddick needs to play aggressively, but there’s a fine line between aggressive and reckless. Too often in the final three sets, he crossed the line.

Serving at 30-30, 3-4 in the fourth set, the American tried to serve and volley on a second serve, leaving himself a difficult half-volley that he flicked into the net. On break point, Roddick set up close to the doubles alley for a second serve, hoping for a wide angle that would push Acasuso off the court to his backhand. Recognizing the ploy, Acasuso stepped to his left and belted a backhand winner down the line.

Even after Acasuso leveled the match, Roddick seemed likely to prevail. The Argentinean received treatment on his legs and back before the start of the fourth game of the fifth set, and then lost his serve, giving Roddick a 3-1 lead. But at 40-30 on his serve, Roddick could only watch from the net as a cross-court forehand flew past him. A point later, he again found himself playing too far to his left, leaving Acasuso room for another backhand winner. Roddick was broken a point later.

Acasuso lost only two points in his next four service games. In the 13th game, he struck the fatal blow. Trailing 15-40, Roddick again played serve and volley, popping up a half volley and giving Acasuso an easy backhand passing shot for the final break. The Argentinean nervously lost two points on his own serve before closing out the match with an ace, an overhead, and a forehand winner off a looping Roddick backhand that landed at mid-court.

Dejected as he was about another clay-court catastrophe, Roddick said he has not dirtied his socks for the last time.

“I’m not going to give up trying to play on it,” he said. “I was better this year than last year.”

With Roddick gone, Acasuso, Guillermo Canas, Filippo Volandri, and Mariano Puerta – clay courters, one and all – find themselves in a free-for-all for a spot in the semifinals. Coria is the favorite to oppose whoever survives, unless the winner of Marat Safin and Juan Carlos Ferrero (likely Ferrero) can halt him in the quarterfinals.

In the other half of the draw, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are on course for a semifinal meeting, though each will have to overcome difficult opponents en route. Nadal partakes in the tournament’s first marquee match today when he takes on France’s Richard Gasquet in a battle of 18-year-old talents.

Among the women yesterday, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Maria Sharapova moved closer to a quarterfinal match with straight set victories. Henin-Hardenne was treated for a back injury, but said afterward that she feels fit. She remains the slight favorite in a field that promises more upsets and strange matches through the weekend.