Looking to achieve a feat that was last achieved by Rod Laver in 1969, Djokovic began his pursuit of the only major title missing from his collection with a no-nonsense 6-4 6-1 6-1 win over Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun in the first round on Tuesday. The nine-time champion’s 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory against Sam Groth of Australia added another notch to the Spanish player’s stunning record in Paris, now at 71 wins, with just two losses.
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Seventh seed Tomas Berdych brushed aside Vasek Pospisil in straight sets in the opening match on court one.
Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek was leading 6-3 6-3 0-6 2-4 when his clash with Murray on Monday was suspended due to bad light.
Djokovic bested Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros previous year, and many felt he was unstoppable and on his way to his first ever French Open title.
After hobbling around court on a balky right knee, two-time Australian Open victor Victoria Azarenka is out of the French Open in the first round, but not without putting up a fight.
Former champions Ana Ivanovic (2008) and Francesca Schiavone (2010) are both in first-round action, while seven-time Grand Slam victor Venus Williams, a 2002 runner-up in Paris, opens against Estonia s Anett Kontaveit.
Murray was the first high-profile male tennis player to hire a female coach. Physically I’m feeling good again.
A year ago it appeared as if the stars had finally aligned for Djokovic when he safely navigated past Nadal and Andy Murray to reach the final to face an opponent barely anyone thought would win.
John Isner used 40 aces to move into the French Open’s second round with a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (12), 7-6 (7), 7-5 victory over 60th-ranked John Millman of Australia in a match played over two days.
Serena Williams will look to resume her march towards history in Paris this week after stumbling in the late rounds at each of the last two majors. But he held there, then broke Stepanek and served it out after wasting his first match point with a double-fault.
“Today I’m really happy with the way I found a solution”, Wawrinka said.
The only matches Nadal has lost at the French Open came in last year’s quarterfinals against Novak Djokovic, and in 2009’s fourth round against Robin Soderling.
Tipsarevic was playing his first Roland Garros since 2013 after being treated for a benign tumor on his left foot.
Kerber received treatment on her shoulder during a changeover while trailing, 3-0, in the deciding set.
It was that kind of day, one for grit over style, and Spain’s fourth seed Garbine Muguruza, a Wimbledon finalist previous year, showed plenty as she also avoided an early exit.
Kristina Mladenovic’s Roland Garros legend is growing with each passing year as the Frenchwoman has notched some of the grandest, most emotional wins of her career on the terre battue.
She arrived in Paris following early losses in Madrid and Rome.
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The weather is expected to remain dry.
