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Career milestones beckon on Day 5 of the French Open

(The) first set was up and down.

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It was only the fourth career victory for the 26-year-old world number 166.

Bacsinszky reached the semi-finals in Paris past year having once taken a break from the sport to work in a hotel. The 9-time champ made just 3 unforced errors as he progressed to the second round.

Seeds falling by the wayside included seventh seed Roberta Vinci, the Italian who stunned Serena Williams at the US Open semi-finals past year.

The note posted following Nadal’s win over Australian Sam Groth in the first round of the ongoing French Open, shows Agassi calling the Spaniard “inspiring” and “remarkable”.

Ranked fourth, the 2015 Wimbledon finalist won 6-2, 6-0 against Myrtille Georges, a French wild-card entry.

Jovanovski, the world number 120, is still without a win in 2016. I know that you must play your best tennis in the first rounds, as well, because everybody is a tough opponent to play.

Another six were later suspended. No. 20 Bernard Tomic lost to 19-year-old Borna Coric 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6).

Top seed Novak Djokovic also began his quest for a first title at Roland Garros with a routine victory, while Serena Williams barely got her shoes dusty in the defence of her crown.

The Serbian top seed now stands only six matches away from becoming the first man in nearly 50 years to hold all four grand slam titles at the same time.

Counting in Nadal’s favor to is the fact that he will be back on his favored Philippe-Chatrier Court, following a rare sojourn to Suzanne-Lenglen Court in the opening round.

Djokovic, seeking to take a step closer to a first Roland Garros title and complete the career Grand Slam, faces Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis whose nickname is “The Shark”.

No. 3 Angelique Kerber, who upset Williams in the Australian Open final in January, lost to 58th-ranked Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

epa05326864 A ball boy waits during the men’s single first round match between Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan and Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 24 May 2016.

Thiem, who retained his Nice title over the weekend, is one of just three players alongside Nadal and Pablo Cuevas with multiple clay-court tournament wins this season.

Nadal is one of the most overly modest players on the tour when it comes to assessing his own performances, but even he admitted that it had been a good start. “I was playing with not many mistakes”.

“I think it’s obvious that my opponent plays better in faster surfaces”.

Nadal got off a sluggish start but once he got into his swing, he was in control.

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Andy Murray needed a lot more time-two days-to escape the first-round, but he finally defeated 37-year-old Radek Stepanek, 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 in a match that was called for darkness Monday evening.

French Open Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal cruises in first round