Djoker now advances to face Steve Darcis in the second round, and he appears to have a fairly wide-open route to the semifinals, where an epic clash with nine-time French Open victor Rafael Nadal could potentially await. Nadal was the quicker by 10 minutes, neutralising the big serve of Australian Sam Groth to win 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 in an hour and 20 minutes.
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Kerber received treatment on her left shoulder at the changeover as she trailed 3-0 in the deciding set.
Tessah Andrianjafitrimo lasted just 51 minutes and 12 games in her first match in the main draw at the French Open.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic was presented with an impressive tennis-themed birthday cake ahead of his bid to win a first French Open title at Roland Garros.
“So bad, so bad”, he muttered to himself after netting a backhand as Nadal raced through the first set. “To win was epic for me, it’s one of my favourite moments to look back on, ‘ Federer said of Nadal, who moved to no.4 seed following the Swiss” withdrawal. After trailing 40-0 on the underdog’s serve, just a point from dropping behind 5-4, Djokovic promptly reeled off nine consecutive points to steal the set.
Djokovic might be the current top ranked player but Nadal is still the best ever on clay.
Angelique Kerber, the Australian Open champion, will start against Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens, but the third seed’s preparations have been far from ideal. His first-round opponent has lost only one. In game number eight, though, Lu played a sloppy service game and handed Djokovic the break advantage.
Amongst the matches yet to be completed, Andy Murray has the task of staging a comeback to beat seasoned Radek Stepanek.
“He’s always been extremely hard to play”, said Murray after a ninth career comeback from two sets down.
The 17-year-old French player, a wild card, lost 6-0, 6-0 to Wang Qiang of China on Court 17.
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The weather is expected to remain dry.
