Let’s quickly review Day 1. The French Open is the only Slam that starts on a Sunday. Presumably, they do this to get three weekends in and make a bit more money. This year, they decided not to have any “top” pros play on Day 1. They also decided to switch balls to Babolat which is made in France. The ball flies some, but pros are pros, and they get used to the ball.
Ferrer, Montanes, Tsonga, Nishikori all won in straight sets.
The major upset was Marin Cilic who lost to Ramirez-Hidalgo who is over 30. Cilic has not played well in a year. He had numerous unforced errors and lost to a veteran.
Gulbis continues his streak of losing in the first round and lost in straight sets to Kavcic.
Wawrinka and Stakhovsky won in four sets. Robert Kendrick lost in four sets to the 30th seed, Garcia-Lopez.
Djokovic had an easy win over Thiemo de Bakker. de Bakker has been a solid player, but was no match for Djokovic. Djokovic won 2, 1, and 3. Federer is playing later today against Feliciano Lopez. We’ll see Fed’s form by how well he plays Lopez who pushed him to 3 tiebreak sets in Madrid.
Viktor Troicki also had an easy win over Reister. Youzhny had a straight set win over Japanese player, Go Soeda.