Third-seeded Novak Djokovic, No. 6 David Nalbandian, No. 10 Andy Murray and No. 7 James Blake advanced to the second round, but 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya lost to Eduardo Schwank 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-7 (1), 4-6, 6-3.
Blake’s 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over Rainer Schuettler made him the first American man to win a match at Roland Garros since 2006.
In the women’s draw, eight-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams beat Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6-1 and last year’s French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic struggled before beating Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 7-5.
The first seeded player to lose was No. 15 Nicole Vaidisova, upset by Iveta Benesova 7-6 (2), 6-1.
Djokovic survived a rough start to his quest for a second straight Grand Slam title, holding off Denis Gremelmayr 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.
The Australian Open champion was broken in his first two service games on center court and trailed 5-1 in the first set before finding some of his game in the second.
In the third set, Djokovic started to show his frustration, throwing his racket into the red clay after Gremelmayr hit a forehand winner in the opening game.
Starting troubles
The second-ranked Ivanovic, who became the first player representing Serbia to play in a major final at last year’s French Open, had six double-faults on center court and was broken by her Swedish opponent when serving for the first set at 5-1.
Williams, the 2002 French Open champion, was broken in the first game of the match and trailed 2-0 before winning seven straight games as a light rain fell.
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