The French Open may be one of the highlights of the tennis calendar, but yesterday will not go down in history as one of its more exciting opening days. Due to persistent rain, only ten of the 32 scheduled matches were able to be completed, with six other matches forced to reach their conclusions today.
Kyrgios through, Kei halted
On the men's side, Nick Kyrgios and Benoit Paire were the only names of note to progress, the Australian with a tight but straight-set win over Marco Cecchinato, Paire with a lengthy five-setter which saw him lose the fourth set 6-1, before recovering to take the fifth 6-4.
Kei Nishikori was in cruise control at 6-1 7-5 2-1 up against Italian Simone Bolelli before being halted by the weather. The Japanese, something of a dark horse in Paris, will be frustrated not to get his first round match out of the way, and must return to attempt to finish off his win today.
Jack Sock, the latest American hope, will be licking his wounds after allowing a two-set lead over Robin Haase to slip, Haase levelling the match at two sets all with the final point of the opening day. A rain break could be just what Sock needs to help him reset for the final set, which will play out today instead.
Kvitova struggles, Safarova storms into round two
Petra Kvitova was the biggest name to progress from the WTA, although she did need three sets to see off Danka Kovinic. The Czech has reached just one major quarterfinal since her second Wimbledon title in 2014, and will be looking to at least match her fourth-round showing from last year here.
Last year's finalist Lucie Safarova was in no mood to hang around, dismantling her opponent Vitalia Diatchenko for the loss of just two games. After a tough start to 2016, Safarova should not be underestimated over the coming fortnight - she is also the reigning doubles champion in Paris.
Heather Watson was locked in a tight battle with Nicole Gibbs at 2-1 in the final set before the rain forced the players off. Gibbs had edged the first set after Watson had squandered an early lead, but the British number two fought back to take the second set 6-2. Watson will aim to become the first British player to reach the second round when play resumes later today.
Results from day one
Petra Kvitova [10] d. Danka Kovinic 6-2 4-6 7-5
Benoit Paire [19] d. Radu Albot 6-2 4-6 6-4 1-6 6-4
Lucie Safarova [11] d. Vitalia Diatchenko 6-0 6-2
Nick Kyrgios [17] d. Marco Cecchinato 7-6(6) 7-6(6) 6-4
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova [24] d. Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2 6-0
Teymuraz Gabashvili d. Donald Young 7-6(1) 6-2 6-3
Viktorija Golubic d. Alison Riske 6-2 1-6 6-2
Andrey Kuznetsov d. Benjamin Becker 6-2 6-2 6-4
Su-Wei Hsieh d. Lara Arruabarrena 7-6(6) 6-3
Igor Sijsling d. Adrian Ungur 6-1 6-2 7-6(5)
Unfinished matches from day one
Kei Nishikori [5] vs Simone Bolelli 6-1 7-5 2-1
Svetlana Kuznetsova [13]vs Yaroslava Shvedova 4-6 6-1 3-1
Jack Sock [23] vs Robin Haase 6-3 7-5 3-6 6-7(3)
Nicole Gibbs vs Heather Watson 7-5 2-6 2-1
Dustin Brown vs Dudi Sela 6-7(5) 6-4 7-6(5) 1-1
Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs Cagla Buyukakcay 7-5 6-7(2) 2-1