French Open 2014 Schedule, Recap, Video Highlights: Rafael Nadal Cruises to Second Round; Stan Wawrinka Suffers First-Round Exit
Rafael Nadal is off to a strong start in the 2014 French Open after scoring a dominating win over Robby Gineptri of the United States, 6-0, 6-3, 6-0, on Monday at the Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Aside from some anxious moments in the second set, Nadal dominated his American opponent, cruising to his 60th victory in 61 French Open matches in his career.
Nadal's only loss in the clay-court major tournament came in the fourth round of the 2009 competition, and he has dominated the tournament ever since and is currently aiming to become the first player to win five-straight French Open titles.
"Always the same: To win against anyone I need to play at a good level, and I need to be ready for fight and for everything that I will need to do to win," Nadal said of his French Open campaign this year, ESPN reported. "And with that I can see I need to be aggressive and need to find a rhythm on the legs and play solid points, find real ways to win the points. That's it."
But while the top-seeded Nadal had an easy route to the next round, reigning Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka crashed out of the tournament after absorbing a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 loss to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Wawrinka is one of the players who are expected to give Nadal a run for his money this year, especially after winning at Monte Carlo last month, but his 41st-ranked opponent, who has never reached the fourth round of any Grand Slam tournament, had other plans in mind.
Meanwhile, second-seeded Novak Djokovic also advanced to the second round after beating Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in their match that was delayed by heavy rains.
Djokovic, who is looking to complete a career Grand Slam by winning this year's French Open title, was leading, 4-1, when heavy rains halted the match for about an hour.
"Very heavy conditions. The court is not that great, in a great condition, at this moment," Djokovic said after the match. "But of course, considering the amount of the rain that we had in last four or five days, it is not easy for people to maintain the court in the right state. They are doing their best."
Complete results and video highlights are available at the official Roland Garros 2014 website.