Rafael Nadal Strolls Into French Open Second Round As Naomi Osaka, Barbora Krejcikova Crash Out

Rafael Nadal kicked off his quest for a 14th French Open title with a straight-sets win over Jordan Thompson, but former world number one Naomi Osaka and defending champion Barbora Krejcikova tumbled out in the first round Monday. Nadal, on a quarter-final collision course with Novak Djokovic, brushed Australia's Thompson aside 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to improve his Roland Garros record to 106 wins and just three losses since his 2005 title-winning debut. "I'm very happy with the victory today. I'm happy to get through in three sets," said Nadal, seeded fifth.

"It's a first round, a positive match for me. Straight sets but with significant room for improvement."

The Spaniard, who last week downplayed concerns over the recurrence of a foot injury that plagued him in Rome, meets Corentin Moutet in round two after the French wildcard defeated 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka.

Osaka, the unseeded four-time Grand Slam winner, was knocked out earlier in the day 7-5, 6-4 by Amanda Anisimova -- the same player who ended the Japanese star's title defence at the Australian Open this year.

Osaka served eight double faults and committed 29 unforced errors on her return to Roland Garros, after withdrawing in 2021 when she refused to honour mandatory media commitments before revealing she had been suffering from depression.

"I thought I tried really hard, and I just feel like it was a bit unfortunate because I wasn't able to play as many matches leading into this tournament," said Osaka.

Anisimova, the 27th seed, reached the semi-finals in Paris three years ago.

"It's tough to see Naomi Osaka in the first round so I knew it wouldn't be easy," said the American.

"I knew I had to play my best tennis and the conditions were not easy."

As rain stopped