Another action-packed day at french open saw the top contenders punch their tickets to the second round to the delight of the fans. In a hot Tuesday at Paris, World No.1 Andy Murray, 2015 French Open champion Stan Wawrinka, and American-based Japanese superstar Kei Nishikori were Able to fight off their opposition to live another day. None of the three stars has had a good clay court season up until now and are hoping that their fate would change during the next ten days.
Andy Murray fended off hard-hitting Kuznetsov
The World No.1, and last year's finalist, Sir Andy Murray, had to work hard for his first round victory.
He faced strong resistance from the young Russian and recent Geneva Open finalist, Andrey Kuznetsov for two sets before gearing up and sprinting through the final line. It was a classic Murray match, showcasing lots of long rallies and breath-taking points. It was not before losing the 2nd set that Andy Murray, sensing his opponent run out of gas, started to dominate the match with a great sense of urgency.
He finished off the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-2,6-0. The Britain has not had a successful season by any means and his only notable accomplishment so far has been winning the Dubai title. Having to deal with a shoulder injury, which forced him out of the first two Masters 1000 events of the year, he has been struggling to find his form.
Nevertheless, he was good enough on Tuesday to sail through and if he can win a few wins under his belts, things can change quickly for him.
Geneva Open champion, through in straight sets
Wawrinka breezed past breezed past Jozef Kovalik in straight sets.In the past few years, Stan Wawrinka has established himself as a force to be reckoned with during the Grand Slam tournaments.
While he has never been able to showcase the same level of consistency as The Big Four, he has proven to be one of the best big-match players of this generation.
His 3-0 record in major finals is an eloquent testimony to this argument. This year, having successfully defended his Geneva Open title, he seems to have peaked at the right time again.
His great first round performance was a warning signal to the rest of the field.
Nishikori comes back to clinch the match
The injury-prone Nishikori, who has been constantly sliding down the rankings this season, was also able to overcome the first hurdle, in the form of Australian Kokkinakis, and keep his dream alive, for now. He did not start the match in a good way and was soon trailing by a set.
However, the experienced World No.9 wasn't about to let the series of his recent misfortunes to continue. He was able to increase his level of intensity and finish off the match in style with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4. Despite the comeback win, Nishikori fans should not get too excited as he did not look good enough in the first match to be considered a serious title contender.
