Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - David Ferrer and Marin Cilic were among the early winners Tuesday in the first round of the French Open.
Ferrer, the seventh seed and 2013 runner-up, blasted Slovakia's Lukas Lacko in a 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 rout, while Cilic, the ninth seed and reigning U.S. Open champ, had little trouble in a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 romp of Dutchman Robin Haase.
Day 3 at Roland Garros features the openers for prohibitive favorite Novak Djokovic and nine-time champion Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic will begin his quest for a first career French Open title, as well as a career Grand Slam, against Finnish veteran Jarko Nieminen. The top-seeded Serb captured the Australian Open earlier this year for his eighth career Grand Slam title, but has yet to win on the famed red clay in the French capital with losses to Nadal in the 2012 and 2014 finals.
Nadal, meanwhile, enters this fortnight with his lowest seed ever in Paris -- No. 6. He did not win any of the four French Open tune-up events this spring, including a loss to Andy Murray in the Madrid final, and will start his stay in Paris against unheralded Frenchman Quentin Halys.
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