By Jocelyn Gecker
The Associated Press

PARIS - Tucked amid the souvenir and food stalls at Roland Garros is a booth promoting Al-Jazeera's new sports channel, which is beaming the French Open in Arabic for the first time across the Middle East and North Africa.

A division of Al-Jazeera news, the sports channel was launched late last year and has exclusive rights to several major international events including the French Open, which is its first Grand Slam, said Einat Yogev, a spokeswoman. It also has rights to next year's Australian Open.

Its information booth on the tournament grounds has drawn mixed reactions.

"Everybody finds it very interesting and wants to know how come Al-Jazeera is here at Roland Garros," Yogev said.

She said many people have voiced encouragement for the Arab satellite network's efforts to edge into a market dominated by English-language stations.

Some tennis fans were skeptical.

"For a lot of people, Al-Jazeera is the bin Laden channel. They're surprised to see us," Yogev said. The network has repeatedly broadcast videotapes purportedly from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

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MULTILINGUAL FEDERER: As for whether Roger Federer speaks Slovak, the answer appears to be a definitive "No."

"I don't, and I won't," he said, when asked if he did.

A Slovakian journalist told Federer that the mother of his girlfriend (also a Slovak) said he could speak it a bit, so, how about trying?

"No," the Swiss player answered, smiling. The pop-quiz came after the world No. 1 had lost to three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Kuerten was more forthcoming about his language skills.

"My French is perfect," Kuerten said, adding, "I'm kidding. I have to learn more. But it's not so bad."

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VERKERK EXITS: Martin Verkerk's big serves weren't enough this year.

The Dutchman, a surprise finalist in 2003, fired 18 aces but tallied a whopping 61 unforced errors Saturday in a third-round five-setter against Lleyton Hewitt, the No. 12 seed.

"Just because you do it last year doesn't mean you're going to do it this year," said Verkerk, seeded 19th. He lost the third-round match 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

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HAUTE CUISINE: Craving a gourmet fix at the French Open? Fear not, a team from Alain Ducasse is running the kitchen.

Return visitors to the tournament might notice that the main food court has been renovated, decorated with baskets of white asparagus and fresh figs like an outdoor market in Provence. There's also tastier fare at slightly higher prices.

"The idea was to give the mass public a little something special," said Bruno Caironi, the executive chef at Alain Ducasse's cooking school, who was hired to impart his gastronomic savoir-faire. Ducasse is the world's only chef with a total of eight coveted Michelin stars.

Lovers of hot dogs and other ballpark fare might be disappointed. The basics have been replaced by roquette salads, shrimp or plump chicken kebabs grilled up fresh, and specialties like Pissaladiere, a pizza-like onion tart typical of the South of France.