French Open | Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic cruise into round 2; Garbine Muguruza gets off to a flyer
The big names had a good day on day two of the French Open as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic cruised into the second round with straight sets victories over Benoit Paire and Marcel Granollers respectively. In the women’s section, Garbine Muguruza got her title defense off to a perfect start.
Nadal, who is aiming for a record-extending 10th title at Roland Garros, dispatched home favourite Paire 6-1, 6-4, 6-1. Despite his best efforts, Paire was no match for the Spanish former world No 1. Left-handed Nadal has been on a resurgent run this year, having finished runner-up at the Australian Open and the Miami Open.
Meanwhile, Djokovic, playing his first tournament under new coach Andre Agassi, enjoyed a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Spain's Granollers, although the Serbian former world No 1 committed as many as 29 unforced errors before getting the job done.
In other men’s singles matches, fifth seed Milos Raonic, seventh seed Marin Cilic, and 10th seed David Goffin all progressed to the second round with wins over Steve Darcis, Ernests Gulbis and Paul-Henri Mathieu respectively.
In the only notable upset of the day, 14th seed Jack Sock was knocked out by Jiri Vesely 7-5, 7-5, 6-3. Elsewhere, the match between Alexander Zverev and Fernando Verdasco was suspended due to rain after the pair won a set apiece.
In women’s singles, Muguruza brushed aside 2010 French Open winner Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-4 while second seed Karolina Pliskova also advanced with a win over Zheng Saisai.
Kristina Mladenovic, the highest-seeded French player in the women's section, gave the home fans something to smile about as she came back from a set down to beat Jennifer Brady in three sets. It was a mixed day for Australians, however, as Samantha Stosur defeated Kristina Kucova while her compatriot Daria Gavrilova fell to Elise Mertens.
Caroline Wozniacki (11), Kiki Bertens (18) and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (16) also advanced after beating Jaimee Fourlis, Ajla Tomljanovic and Patricia Maria Tig respectively.
