Seeds begin to sprout

Paris, May 28

Serena Williams played with fire at the French Open but the world No. 1 pulled through to the third round with a 5-7 6-3 6-3 win against unheralded German Anna-Lena Friedsam.

The American hit a flurry of unforced errors in the first set and faced two break points in the first game of the second before she regained her composure. Williams, whose 19 Grand Slam titles include the French Open crowns in 2002 and 2013, has already experienced spectacular failures here, having been knocked out in the first round in 2012 and in the second round last year.

But when she broke Friedsam’s serve at the start of the third set the chance of a repeat began to fade away as the German’s belief finally withered. Williams broke serve again to claim victory and she will next face 27th seed Victoria Azarenka.  Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki suffered a second-round exit at the hands of Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

Nadal in Round 3

Rafa Nadal got his usual confidence boost from Nicolas Almagro at Roland Garros, reaching the third round with a 6-4 6-3 6-1 victory — his fourth without dropping a set.

Nadal, chasing a record-extending 10th title here, was tested by Almagro but the Mallorcan had just too much strength.

The 28-year-old arrived in Paris on the back of his worst season on European clay but he is beginning to look a little more like his old self. He tightened his game every time Almagro threatened, seeing off six of seven break points and wrapped up victory when he forced his opponent to return a powerful forehand wide on the first match point.

Kei Nishikori became the first player through to the fourth round without hitting a ball on Thursday when his third-round opponent Benjamin Becker withdrew injured. Novak Djokovic suffered a scare when he needed a medical timeout during a 6-1 6-4 6-4 win over Luxembourg's Gilles Muller. 

Sania-Soares stunned 

Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares of Brazil crashed out (2-6 2-6) in the first round after suffering defeat at the hands of Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Jean-Julien Rojer. — Agencies

Results

Men’s Singles Round 2: R Nadal bt N Almagro 6-4 6-3 6-1; M Cilic bt A Arnaboldi 7-6(3) 6-1 6-1; D Goffin bt S Giraldo 6-3 4-6 7-5 6-2; 

A Kuznetsov bt J Melzer 6-1 5-7 7-6(0) 7-5; A Murray bt J Sousa 6-2 4-6 6-4 6-1; Women’s Singles Round 2: S Williams bt 

A Friedsam 5-7 6-3 6-3; J Goerges bt C Wozniacki 6-4 7-6(4); P Kvitova bt S Espinosa 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2; V Azarenka bt L Hradecka 6-2 6-3; F Schiavone bt S Kuznetsova 6-7(11) 7-5 10-8; M Keys bt B Bencic 6-0 6-3