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Rediff.com  » Sports » French Open PHOTOS: Wawrinka knocked out in Round 1, Nadal cruises
This article was first published 9 years ago

French Open PHOTOS: Wawrinka knocked out in Round 1, Nadal cruises

Last updated on: May 27, 2014 07:07 IST

Image: Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland reacts
Photographs: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka was knocked out in the first round of the French Open by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain on Monday.

Garcia-Lopez won 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 against the third-seeded Swiss on the Philippe Chatrier show court.

Wawrinka led 3-1 in the first set before losing it on the Spaniard's first set point by hitting long. He pulled level in the second set but he made 62 unforced errors on a heavy clay surface in Paris.

Garcia-Lopez, ranked 41 in the world, cruised through the fourth set against an increasingly despondent Wawrinka.

Ruthless Nadal demolishes Ginepri

Image: Rafael Nadal
Photographs: Vincent Kessler/Reuters

World No.1 Rafael Nadal started his French Open title defence in ruthless fashion, dismantling American Robby Ginepri 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 to reach the second round.

The eight-times champion from Spain wasted no time on a damp day in Paris to set up a meeting with either France's Paul-Henri Mathieu or Austrian wunderkind Dominic Thiem.

Nadal used his whipping forehand to unsettle the world number 279 and never showed the signs of nervousness that sometimes bother him in early rounds.

The sun pierced through the clouds midway through the third set as Nadal wasted two match points, ending the match on his third attempt when Ginepri's backhand sailed long.

French Open PHOTOS: Sharapova canters into round 2

Image: Maria Sharapova of Russia serves
Photographs: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

Maria Sharapova emerged unscathed from an all-Russian battle against Ksenia Pervak on the rain-delayed second day of the French Open on Monday.

The seventh seed and 2012 champion blew kisses to the crowd after she won 6-1 6-2 on the Philippe Chatrier show court.

Play got underway on day two more than an hour late due to light rain and Sharapova would have been relieved with her quick workout as further showers delayed the start of the next match on the main showcourt, featuring second seed Novak Djokovic and Joao Sousa of Portugal.

The women's warm-up featured Sharapova in fetching pink and Pervak in what looked like army camouflage trousers and jacket. Once the match started, her fighting spirit proved insufficient to trouble Sharapova.

Cibulkova overcomes Razzano challenge

Image: Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia
Photographs: Vincent Kessler/Reuters

In another match ninth seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia beat France's Virginie Razzano 7-5, 6-0 and there were also wins for seeds Sabine Lisicki and Flavia Pennetta.

Winner of the Stuttgart and Madrid claycourt titles, Sharapova went on the attack early, moving her left-handed compatriot around the court to break at the first opportunity.

But a wild volley at the net, with the whole court open, allowed Pervak to break back before Sharapova finally emerged with a 4-1 lead and took the set in 27 minutes.

Sharapova broke early in the second set and while Pervak kept defeat at bay in her final service game, she handed Sharapova victory when she hit a return of serve too long.

Sharapova showed she had fully recovered from her thrashing by Ana Ivanovic in the third round in Rome, winning 92 percent of points on first serve.

Klizan stuns Nishikori

Image: Martin Klizan
Photographs: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Japanese ninth seed Kei Nishikori, coached by 1989 Roland Garros champion Michael Chang, crumbled to a 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-2 defeat by Slovakia's Martin Klizan after serving for the first set at 5-3.

The left-handed Klizan, who took a set off eventual champion Rafael Nadal here last year, broke back and took the subsequent tiebreak 7-4.

Nishikori, who was on the verge of beating Spain's Nadal on clay in Madrid before retiring injured in the final, all but collapsed in the following two sets and a netted return of serve gave Klizan victory.