Seventh-seeded David Ferrer of Spain advanced to second round of the French Open by beating Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday.
Ferrer is expected to make a deep run at the clay-court Grand Slam after reaching consecutive finals in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, losing to Rafael Nadal each time.
Ferrer reached the quarterfinals twice at Roland Garros and could play Roger Federer at that stage of the tournament this year
Stosur advances
Sam Stosur opened her bid to return to the French Open final by beating Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday in the first round.
Playing in the first match on Court Philippe Chatrier, the eighth-seeded Stosur dropped her serve in the opening game but then reeled off four straight games to take the lead for good.
The Australian reached the final at Roland Garros last year but lost to Francesca Schiavone. In 2009, Stosur reached the French Open semifinals.
Stosur next plays Simona Halep of Romania, who became the first player to reach the second round by beating Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 6-2, 6-1 on Court 17.
Cilic exits
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain upset the 19th-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the French Open on Sunday.
Cilic had 67 unforced errors and was broken five times by the right-handed Spaniard, who sealed the win with a forehand attack on his first match point.
It was Cilic’s earliest exit at Roland Garros since his first appearance at the clay-court Grand Slam in 2007.
