Defending champion Stan Wawrinka got off to a shaky start at the French Open, surviving five tough sets to beat Lukas Rosol 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Monday in the first round.
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The third-seeded Wawrinka was out of sorts for most of the match on a gray, chilly afternoon, winding up with 46 unforced errors, 17 on his preferred backhand wing.
Wawrinka looked to be back on track when he raced through the second set to level the match, but Rosol again took an early lead in the third set and did not allow Wawrinka back in contention as he assumed a two-sets-to-one lead.
Rogers dropped her racket on the red clay of Court 2 and clutched her head in disbelief when the 10th-seeded Czech player netted a forehand on match point to win 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-0.
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.
His play was a far cry from that against Rosol in the first and third sets, when Wawrinka produced more than half of his unforced errors.
The start of play was delayed for more than three hours due to rain.
Fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan completed a 6-1, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Simone Bolelli of Italy in a match stopped by rain on Sunday night. However, there was plenty of time for notable firsts.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and 2009 French Open victor Svetlana Kuznetsova also advanced in straight sets.
Stan Wawrinka, who beat Cilic in the Geneva final, nearly went out in the first round as well. “For sure it was some up and down, could have been better, but winning three sets, it’s always good”, said Wawrinka.
Nishikori finishes things off with his fourth ace of the match in taking the third set 6-3. She next plays 2014 French Open finalist Simona Halep.
Muguruza, who has made the quarter-finals for the last two years, will next take on French wildcard Myrtille Georges, the world number 203. “Even though I was running and playing, I felt like cold”.
Karlovic will face either second seed Andy Murray or France’s Mathias Bourgue for a place in the last 16 at Roland Garros for the first time.
Kerber received treatment on her left shoulder at the changeover as she trailed 3-0 in the deciding set. Accordingly a lot of first-round matches have been pushed back, nd there’s still a long way to go before the opening round is concluded.
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Osaka, playing in only her second major tournament, reached the third round at this year’s Australian Open.
