Getting past his first round opponent at the French Open was easy. Breaking the Big Four domination will be a lot harder for Tomas Berdych.
"Everything has been aimed for this tournament," Berdych said on Monday after his 6-0, 7-5, 6-3 win over qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round of the French Open. "I'm feeling well. I'm feeling physically, mentally strong, and that's the best possible start that I can have."
A runner-up at Wimbledon in 2010, Berdych also made it to the semifinals at the French Open that year. The Czech is playing at Roland Garros for the 12th consecutive time and has reasons to believe he can match his best result in the French capital.
Berdych used his powerful groundstrokes to overwhelm Nishioka from the start and broke for a 2-0 lead. After that he never looked back, saved all three break points he faced and hit a total of 32 winners.
The Japanese teenager offered better resistance in the second set but his lack of experience showed. A break in the third set was enough for Berdych to improve his record on the Parisian clay to 18-11.
On a cool and breezy day, the hot-tempered Fabio Fognini kept his cool as the Italian dispatched another Japanese player, Tatsuma Ito, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. No. 11 Feliciano lopez of Spain became the highest seeded man to tumble so far, losing 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-3 to 74th-ranked Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia.
Radek Stepanek, the oldest man in the draw at 36, progressed with a four-set win over Ivan Dodig while the youngest man to compete bowed out in straight sets. Making his debut at a Grand Slam tournament, 17-year-old Frances Tiafoe lost 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 to 36th-ranked Martin Klizan of Slovakia.
On women's play, former world No. 2 number and 2012 Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska lost in the first round for the first time since her 2007 debut at the clay-court Grand Slam, bowing out 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 against Annika Beck.
Battling a cold and cough, Maria Sharapova was not in the mood for small talk after beating Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 6-4 having been made to work harder than the scoreline suggested.
Andy Murray did not waste any time on center court, dispatching Facundo Arguello 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to assert his credentials in Paris.