The French Open got underway today and the top seeds cruised through into the second round, leaving the first day lacking drama but full with showcasing displays.
In the women’s game, Radwanska and Serena Williams took to Court Phillipe Chatrier and dismantled their opponents Zhang and Lim for the loss of three games each. On other courts, Kerber came through, dropping just four games against Piter, while Venus Williams dropped five versus up-and-comer Bencic.
There was some competitive tennis going on at Roland Garros though. Former top tenner Daniela Hantuchova, who had one of her finest career moments at the French when she knocked out top seed Wozniacki in 2010, battled for three sets before making it through against Jaksic. And Carlos Suarez Navarro came through a tough two setter versus Beygelzimer.
The men’s matches were as clear cut as the women’s. Federer beat Lacko in straights, and Tsonga, Berdych, Dolgopolov, Raonic, Isner and Tursunov all cruised through without dropping a set. Raonic had the toughest battle on his hands; the second set could have gone the way of Krygios as the Canadian struggled with his game and favorite status, but you know it is a drama-free day when the most high profile struggle is a straight setter.
In fact, all the matches on the show courts were straight affairs, leaving the French Open somewhat devoid of headline making dramatic epics.
There were some battles though. Youzhny was taken to five by Busta but won the fifth set 6-0. Nieminen got past Pryzysieszy in four tough sets, Janowicz beat Burgos in four, and Stepanek beat Arguello in five.
So, the tennis world, while no doubt impressed by the showcase performances put on, awaits to see if the second day of the French will give the infamously vocal crowd an epic to scream about.
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