World number two Daniil Medvedev showed no signs of discomfort from his recent hernia operation, kicking off his French Open campaign with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 win over Argentine Facundo Bagnis on Tuesday.
In an upset, Danish teenager Holger Rune swept aside 14th seed Denis Shapovalov in straight sets to earn his first win in a Grand Slam tournament and confirm his status as one of the sport's brightest prospects.
Medvedev, who briefly held the world number one ranking earlier in the season, played his first clay event of 2022 last week in Geneva after a two-month break but lost in the opening round to Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
Clay courts have not been Medvedev's strong suit and he was 0-4 at Roland Garros before last year's tournament but turned around his dismal record by reaching the quarterfinal of the 2021 edition of the Grand Slam.
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"I love Roland Garros, especially since last year," Medvedev said with a smile during his on-court interview. "Before that I don't know if I actually loved it given that I was out on the Sunday when the tournament was actually starting on the Monday.
"But now it's Tuesday and I'm still here. I've been well after my surgery, I didn't think I would be able to play on clay. But with the help of the doctors and the physios I've been able to be back on my feet to even play a match on clay last week and I'm 100% ready to play Roland Garros."
After trading service breaks at the start of Tuesday's contest on a chilly and windy morning on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Medvedev took control of his first matchup against the left-handed Argentine, ranked 103rd in the world currently.
The 32-year-old Bagnis, who retired with injury during his first round in Geneva, had his right leg heavily taped and suffered a fall while serving during the second set.
But he continued playing despite limping between points amid applause from the crowd.
The pair traded breaks of serve once again early in the third set but Medvedev, who hit 35 winners while keeping his unforced errors in check, kept his composure and broke his opponent twice more to seal the contest.
Medvedev will next meet the winner of the match between Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis and Laslo Djere of Serbia for a place in the third round.
Rising star Rune thumps 14th seed Shapovalov in straight sets
Danish teenager Holger Rune swept aside 14th seed Denis Shapovalov in straight sets to earn his first win in a Grand Slam tournament and confirm his status as one of the sport's brightest prospects.
The 19-year-old, who won his maiden tour title in Munich this month, powered past the Canadian world number 15 with ease, winning 6-3 6-1 7-6(4) and showing no nerves.
"I'm really positive and working hard every day to get better. This is what you work for every day, to be able to play the biggest tournaments," the baby-faced teenager with a bright smile told a news conference.
"You know, I'm super happy and pleased to be in this position right now, to be able to have chances against these guys, to be able to, you know, win my first title in Munich was a huge step forward in my career."
A former French Open junior champion at 16, Rune looked extremely comfortable on the red clay on the outside Court 12, cruising through the first two sets in less than an hour with Shapovalov having no answer to his power and serial drop shots.
Rune had the chance to finish the contest with his first match point at 5-4 but sent an easy forehand into the net and gifted Shapovalov a set point two games later.
Another superb drop shot restored order and forced a tiebreak which Rune won when Shapovalov fired a forehand wide.
The teenager shot up from the 400s in the rankings in 2021 to the top 100 early this year.
He has already improved his ranking to world number 40, a major accomplishment considering he played for the first time in the main draw of an ATP tournament just over a year ago.
"I'm improving every day. I'm trying to improve 1% every day to get, you know, always to do things a little better than the day before," he said.
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