And Rafael Nadal was so at ease in a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory over 100th-ranked Sam Groth of Australia that the nine-time French Open champion even allowed himself a smile after a dazzling, back-to-the-net, through-the-legs passing shot victor in the next-to-last game.
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But even though this is the one Grand Slam so far to elude the man who has dominated men’s tennis for most of the last two years, one suspects the weather will not dampen his mood on 22nd May in Paris.
He made only three unforced errors in the match. Every other Nadal match at Roland Garros has taken at least an hour and 40 minutes. I think that in the second set when I was serving for 4-1, I missed four easy backhands and I felt like that was the turning point and I was down mentally after this game.
But Nadal, Wawrinka and Murray – who beat Djokovic in straight sets in the Rome final last week – will all be there.
Murray is seeded second for the first time at Roland Garros and will face qualifier Radek Stepanek in his first match.
Play will begin at 10am BST with Andy Murray expected to be on the Philippe Chatrier court around 3pm if there are no interruptions for rain. Nadal is once again playing with confidence, and will prove a mighty obstacle at Roland Garros.
“Well, to be honest, age is just a number for me, so I still feel like I have plenty more years ahead of me, which gives me more comfort in terms of opportunities I’m going to have at the title of Roland Garros-which releases more pressure for me this year”.
“But you’ve got to expect that if you play him here”.
“Both of us had chances in the fifth set”.
“So I hope to continue playing well here”.
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.
With an eye on the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Serena and Venus Williams are entered in women’s doubles at the French Open their first Grand Slam tournament as a team since 2014.
Kei Nishikori has posted his 50th Grand Slam match win, reaching the second round at the French Open.
McEnroe said: “As great a clay-court player as he’s been, similar to (Roger) Federer in his prime when he was knocking on the door and couldn’t win the French until he got a little bit of help from Robin Soderling, he’s running out of time”. Rafa’s always a bit nervous during the first rounds here.
“That was for sure not my best tennis I played today”.
“I think it’s a question of respect to the crowd and to the players that are waiting hours and hours in the lounges and in the locker rooms. But four months ago I was in a hospital having surgery, so I’m happy with where I am now”.
Elsewhere, Misaki Doi fell at the first hurdle, failing to get past Samantha Stosur in three sets in her opening-round match that had been postponed due to darkness.
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World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has been near-unassailable over the past two years, and with a new coach, new diet and fitter than before, looks like he could break his French Open jinx.
