Rafael Nadal walked onto Centre Court on Tuesday knowing he had lost his last three matches on grass.
And when the world No1 dropped the first set to Slovakia’s Martin Klizan, flashbacks of his early losses in the previous two editions of the Championships started creeping into the minds of those watching.
But instead of succumbing to any doubts, Nadal stormed back to register his 700th career victory and take out Klizan 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
“When you go on court and you lost last year in the first round, the year before in the second round – I’m not going to lie, it stays in your mind,” said the No2 seed.
“But in the end it's a tennis match and by winning Roland Garros, you are able to go on court with a little bit less pressure.”
Nadal was under pressure on serve from the start and had to save four break points in his opening two service games to hold. He dropped serve in the ninth game though when the Slovak world No51 created a window to break, running down a volley from Nadal and perfectly executing the passing shot winner. Nadal double-faulted to hand over the break and Klizan served out the set to take the lead.
“When you are in the match, you are not thinking about what happened last year, two years ago, five years ago. You’re thinking about the next point, finding a solution for that match. What is past is past,” said Nadal when asked whether he felt history would repeat itself when he dropped the first set.
The Spaniard saved two break points in the third game of the second set before he switched gears, starting to serve and move better.
And he was rewarded with a break to edge ahead 4-2 and soon levelled the match. He won the next two sets to set up a second round with Lukas Rosol, in a rematch of their last 64 meeting from 2012, where the Czech shocked Nadal.
Roger Federer had a simpler time on court as he dispatched clay specialist Paulo Lorenzi 6-1, 6-1, 6-3, although he did need six match points to finish off the Italian. He next faces Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller.
“It was a solid match overall. I served well, returned well, also tried to come forward a bit. So I’m very pleased with the first round,” said Federer, who is competing in a record 59th consecutive grand slam.
French No24 seed Gael Monfils won a bizarre match against Arab No1 Malek Jaziri where the Frenchman continuously made conversation with his box, moaning about his shots, joking with them as well as with umpire Mohamed Lahyani, before advancing 7-6 (5), 7-5, 6-4.
The former world No7 gave an inconsistent performance where he would tank several points before hitting four aces in a row. Jaziri was up 3-1 in the first set and 4-1 in the second but was unable to bring his best serving when it mattered.
“I was just talking about some stuff, like funny stuff,” said Monfils of the conversations he was having during the match. “On grass it is never easy for me. I'm very relaxed. I'm just the coolest than ever on grass.
“Then it’s hard for me to play like solid tennis because I can't move. I don't feel comfortable. So I try to play just some part of the match. It was fun, so it's good for me.”
Jaziri admitted his opponent’s tactics were distracting but blamed himself on the defeat.
“He was so distracting. Getting me into the match, then shutting me out, talking a lot, sometime she’s playing, sometimes he’s not. I knew beforehand that he likes talking a lot and making a show but I’m the one who squandered my opportunities,” Jaziri told Sport360°.
“I didn’t serve well, even in qualifying I wasn’t serving well. Against good players, if you can’t hold serve then you can’t win. I had a lot of opportunities.
“I need to work harder.”
Eighth-seeded Milos Raonic, ninth-seeded John Isner and 10th-seeded Kei Nishikori were all straight sets winners on Tuesday.
