"I'm going to not discuss it. I made a choice. I played. I'm fine. I lost," he said, his expression downcast under a blue baseball hat bearing the logo of his French sponsor.

"Not being confident on something isn't the same as just not being bothered with it. You know, as athletes, we're preconditioned to hope sometimes. Coming into this, I didn't have much to kind of prop myself up on," Roddick said. "But, you know, I played a guy who it's not his favorite surface either, so there was a chance. You just don't know. If everyone pulled out of every tournament when they weren't feeling great or confident, we wouldn't have a lot of fields that were much to write home about. We'd have about four people in most draws."

Mahut lost in the first round eight times in nine previous appearances in Paris. He is best known for losing the longest match in tennis history to John Isner, 70-68 in the fifth set at Wimbledon in the first round in 2010.

Mahut acknowledged the 29-year-old man he faced Sunday "was not the No. 1 Roddick, the No. 1 player in the world that we know."

Still, Roddick did make a bit of a stand, hitting a backhand passing winner down the line to take the third set, then breaking Mahut to open the fourth.

"Then," Roddick would lament, "it fell apart pretty quick."

Now it's on to a happier segment of the season.

"There are a lot of guys who know how to play on clay, and it's just second nature to them," Roddick said. "I feel that way on grass, so hopefully I can turn it around there."

He'll play next at Queen's Club, which starts in London on June 11, then Wimbledon.

After that, he wants to play at the Olympics, which will have tennis on the grass of the All England Club.

And what about his supposed plan to play mixed doubles at the London Games with Serena Williams?

"Ask her. I can't get ahold of her," Roddick replied. "If you see her, ask her for me."

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Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP/Getty Images

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American Steve Johnson gets Wimbledon wild card

Federer wins 1st title of year, beats Youzhny

Murray recovers from slip to win Queen's title

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Headlines

• Label

Wozniacki, Tomic advance at Eastbourne

American Steve Johnson gets Wimbledon wild card

Federer wins 1st title of year, beats Youzhny

Murray recovers from slip to win Queen's title

Top-seeded Radwanska loses to US qualifier Hampton

Murray, defending champ Cilic in Queen's Cup final

Halep beats Petkovic for 1st career title

Federer records second 'double bagel' of career