Hewitt blows in

Hewitt dropped the first set before beating Pavel

World number one Lleyton Hewitt survived a sandstorm to overcome Romanian Andrei Pavel and progress to the second round of the Indian Wells Masters in California.

Britain's Tim Henman joined him by beating Frenchman Nicolas Escude, but Greg Rusedski was beaten by another Frenchman Julien Boutter.

Hewitt's 4-6 6-3 6-0 victory on Wednesday was achieved in swirling winds blowing desert sand all over the court.

He benefited from playing in the morning before the storm moved in and play was suspended for an hour later in the day.

It's more about winning ugly and trying to get through it

Lleyton Hewitt

Tournament referee Tom Barnes ruled the conditions were dangerous with sand whipping into players' eyes and making the courts slippery.

"The dust was straight in your eyes but from what I saw the outside courts were going to be a lot tougher," said US Open champion Hewitt, who played on the Stadium Court.

"I don't think too many matches out there are going to be very pretty.

"You're not trying to get too much rhythm out there, it's more about winning ugly and trying to get through it."

Hewitt, who disposed of former world number one Carlos Moya in the opening round, next plays American Jan-Michael Gambill who was a winner over 13th seed Jiri Novak.

Kafelnikov became frustrated in the conditions

Playing at the same time on an exposed outside court, second-seeded Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov also overcame a stubborn opponent to reach the third round.

Kafelnikov struggled with the conditions before beating Spain's Fernando Vicente 6-3 7-6.

He will now meet Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela.

Henman through

Tim Henman, seeded ninth, raced to a 4-0 lead over France's Nicolas Escude on Court Two before play was halted.

But the Briton maintained his composure after the enforced break to triumph 6-2 7-6 (7/4), gaining revenge for a recent defeat in the final at Rotterdam.

He did endure some nervous moments however after letting a 4-2 lead slip in the second set.

But down 4-2 in the tiebreak, Henman rattled off the next five points to claim victory.

But fellow Briton Rusedski was not so lucky against Boutter.

He won the first set 7-4 on a tie-break, but then lost the next two sets 6-3 and 6-4.

"I'm very frustrated with myself," said Rusedski.

"If I lost the match and did the right things then I have no problem, but if I lose the match and I do the wrong things then I have a problem."

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Second round results:
(1) Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) bt Andrei Pavel (Rom) 4-6 6-3 6-0
(2) Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Rus) bt Fernando Vicente (Spa) 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
Gaston Gaudio (Arg) bt Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) 6-2 7-5
(9) Tim Henman (Gbr) bt Nicolas Escude (Fra) 6-2 7-6 (7/4)
(10) Pete Sampras (US) bt Albert Costa (Spa) 6-4 6-4
(12) Roger Federer (Swi) bt Stefan Koubek (Aut) 6-4 6-4
Fabrice Santoro (Fra) beat Nicolas Kiefer (Ger) 7-6 (7/1) 6-1
Thomas Enqvist (Swe) beat Attila Savolt (Hun) 2-6 6-4 6-2
Jan-Michael Gambill (US) bt (13) Jiri Novak (Cze) 6-3 6-2
Karol Kucera (Slk) bt Franco Squillari (Arg) 6-4 6-2
Juan Ignacio Chela (Arg) beat (16) Alex Corretja (Spa) 6-4 6-0