It was not smooth sailing for Rafael Nadal in the first round, while the women's defending champion Maria Sharapova did not have any such problems in advancing to the second round of the French Open.
Nadal, in what was expected to be a match with the cruise control button pressed by the Spaniard, was made to work extremely hard by German Daniel Brands, who has never progressed past the first round at Roland Garros.
After losing the first set, the French Open favorite and seven-time champion eventually managed a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-3 win over Brands to enter the second round of the French Open.
"That was really tough," Nadal said. "He was trying to hit every ball as hard as he can. From the first ball, you know, there was not one ball I felt I had time to prepare for.
"The problem was he was executing that tactic really well. I am seriously happy to be through. I really haven't seen him play a lot before. I respect everyone I play. But playing like this, I don't know why he's ranked where he is."
Sharapova did not find it remotely tough in her first round outing, easing past Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Su-Wei 6-2, 6-1 in a mere 52 minutes.
The match was moved from the showpiece Philippe Chatrier court to Suzanne Lenglen when it became clear the epic between Tomas Berdych and Gael Monfils would go on for a while yet.
The late rescheduling did not bother Sharapova one bit, though, as she ensured progress in serene fashion.
"I was just happy that I was able to finish the match," the defending champion said. "Getting off the court and still seeing the men's match was still playing, I was happy with the decision that everyone made.
"Obviously I wanted to finish tonight. The last few days and the last week have been really nice just to be able to recharge again and get back out there today."
The match between Berdych and local favorite Monfils went the Frenchman's way with Monfils knocking out the No.5 seed 7-6 (8), 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 in a massive four hours and three minutes.
Elsewhere, Caroline Wozniacki had it easy over Britain's big hope Laura Robson, with the former world number one winning 6-3, 6-2 in a match that was billed to be the most likely to create an upset.
"My confidence has always been good," Wozniacki, seeded 10, said. "Experience means a lot. I have been on the tour a very long time and played a lot of matches.
"I know how to play my best but sometimes it's not as easy to execute (on court) as it is in my head. Laura is a great girl. I'm just glad to be through and feeling like I'm in the tournament."
There were also wins for Roberta Vinci, Zuzana Kucova, Angelique Kerber, Carla Suarez-Navarro, and American quartet Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Vania King, Melanie Oudin and Varvara Lepchenko.
Fellow American John Isner also advanced into the second round with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over the dangerous Argentine Carlos Berlocq.
