French Open Day Three round-up: Rafael Nadal eases into the second round as he begins his quest for a record 21st Grand Slam

Rafael Nadal recorded his 101st win at Roland Garros following a comfortable 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Alexei Popyrin.

The 13-time French Open champion eased to the opening two sets but had to save two set points in the third before eventually winning in the tie-break to record a 31st consecutive victory at Roland Garros.

Nadal is the standout favourite to win the tournament and a 14th triumph in Paris would see him move clear of Roger Federer at the top of the list for the most Grand Slam titles.

The King of Clay’s rival and potential semi-final opponent Novak Djokovic also cruised into round two with little trouble as he defeated Tennys Sandgren in straight sets in the late night session on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Andrey Rublev suffers a shock defeat

Jan-Lennard Struff pulled off the upset of the day defeating the seventh seed Andrey Rublev in five sets.

The Russian fought back from two sets down to level the scores going into the decider but an early break for Struff was enough for the German to hold on and secure a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 3-6, 6-4 victory in three hours and 49 minutes.

The 20th seed Felix Auger Aliassime, who is coached by Nadal’s uncle Toni, was also eliminated in the opening round after losing in four sets to Andreas Seppi.

French favourite Gael Monfils won only his second match on tour since tennis resumed after the lockdown by fighting from a set down to defeat Albert Ramos-Vinolas with a scintillating display that was roared on by the home crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Diego Schwartzman and Aslan Karatsev also made it through to the next round following more comfortable straight-sets victories.

Women’s Draw

The World No 1 Ashleigh Barty survived a scare on Court Philippe Chatrier as she battled past Bernarda Pera into the second round with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory.

Meanwhile, Elina Svitolina had less trouble in her straight-sets victory over 17-year-old French talent Oceane Babel.

America’s Jennifer Brady also progressed in straight-sets with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Anastasija Sevastova.

However, fellow American Venus Williams was brushed aside in two-sets by 32nd seed Ekatarina Alexandrova.

Yet, press conferences were once again the talking point of the women’s draw as Petra Kvitova withdrew from the tournament after injuring her ankle in a freak incident during her media duties.