Federer and Wawrinka cruise into the second round

Facing a player who pushed him to five sets at Wimbledon five years ago, Federer was never threatened this time.

Roger Federer, stepping on to court in a violet and pink outfit, enlivened a routine day at the office with several dabs of brilliance in a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Alejandro Falla to launch yet another quest for the Coupe de Mousquetaires at Stade Roland Garros on Sunday.

Federer made a few errors as he loosened up against a player he almost fell to in the first round at Wimbledon in 2010. But he was never in any danger. The 33-year-old second seed quickly warmed to his task, while Falla offered enough resistance to provide some lunchtime entertainment.

Eight-seeded Stan Wawrinka, one of several players to beat Rafael Nadal on clay this season, was a straight-set winner over Marsel Ilhan. Kei Nishikori, the biggest threat to Federer in the bottom half of the draw, also advanced with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu.

Federer, one of 39 players in their 30s in the men’s draw, breezed through the first two sets and though Falla had a break point in the fifth game of the third, Federer snuffed out the danger to roll through.

“Winning a match like this is a good thing,” Federer, ever-present at Grand Slams this century, said. “I hit a lot of balls today. I hope that I will start to play better and better as the tournament goes on.”

Federer, conveniently in the opposite side of the draw to nine-time champion Rafael Nadal, World No.1 Novak Djokovic and third seed Andy Murray, will have a few days off before a clash with Marcel Granollers.

Security lapse

His mood, however, was darkened by a security lapse. As he walked off, a fan sauntered on and began trying to snap a selfie with a mobile phone before he was belatedly removed by a security guard.

“I’m not happy about it. Obviously, not one second I’m happy about it. It happened yesterday in the practice too,” a ruffled Federer told reporters, adding that organisers had apologised.

Women’s third seed Simona Halep got the ball rolling on Court Philippe Chatrier with hard-earned 7-5, 6-4 win over 91st-ranked Evgeniya Rodina.

“It was a tough match, because it was the first round and it is always is difficult to start the tournament,” she told reporters. “I did make some easy mistakes, but it’s normal and I accept that. Next round I will be better, for sure.”