Novak Djokovic bought the defence of his Roland Garros title off to a stable if unspectacular begin with a straight-sets win over French wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
The world primary stated he arrived at Roland Garros with “low expectations and excessive hopes” after struggling some uncharacteristic defeats this yr.
The gang on Court docket Philippe Chatrier most likely felt a lot the identical about their man’s possibilities, with Herbert a lowly 142 within the rankings.
And so it transpired, as an underwhelming night-session match went the best way of the 24-time grand slam champion 6-4 7-6 (3) 6-4.
The one second of slight drama got here deep within the third set when Djokovic took a nasty tumble down by the web, and was booed by the ever-friendly Paris crowd as he towelled himself down.
“C’est regular, l’ambiance,” he stated whereas addressing the group afterwards, earlier than translating the comment as: “It’s regular, the environment. Merci pour l’ambiance (thanks for the environment).”
Two-time runner-up Casper Ruud gained some belated household revenge by beating Brazilian qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves in straight units.
Within the ultimate of the 1995 Swedish Open in Bastad, Meligeni Alves’ uncle Fernando Meligeni beat Ruud’s father Christian to win the title.
“I feel each me and my dad wished to get some revenge,” stated Ruud. “It was well worth the wait, I suppose. It was a few years we needed to wait, however we bought it in the present day.
Australian Alex de Minaur proved to be a velocity demon, the eleventh seed racing previous American Alex Michelsen 6-1 6-0 6-2 in only one hour and 48 minutes.