Defending champion and world No. 3 Rafael Nadal of Spain began his quest for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title -- and his 14th French Open crown — by overcoming Australian world No.63 Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(3) in the first round on Tuesday.

Nadal fired seven aces and won 81 per cent of his first-serve points to book a second-round clash against 34-year-old French veteran Richard Gasquet, ranked 53rd in the world.

Gasquet defeated country-mate Hugo Gaston, a wildcard, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

With the win against Popyrin, Nadal now has a win-loss record of 101-2 at the Roland Garros.

Another Frenchman, 14th seed Gael Monfils, won his first match at a Grand Slam since the 2020 Australian Open by getting the better of 38th ranked Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round.

Monfils will next meet 22-year-old Swede Mikael Ymer, who defeated Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) 6-4, 0-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Seventh seed Andrey Rublev of Russia lost a marathon three-hour, 46-minute battle against German world No. 42 Jan-Lennard Struff, who won 6-3, 7-6(6), 4-6, 3-6, 6-4.

The 23-year-old Rublev, who has made it to the quarter-finals in his last three majors, had reached the Monte Carlo final in the build-up to the French Open, scoring a big win over Nadal on the way.

Nadal’s win over Popyrin marked his 31st consecutive victory at Roland Garros, a streak dating back to 2015 when he lost to Serbian world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.

Four-time defending champion, Nadal is aiming for his 21st Grand Slam title, which would break his tie with Swiss legend Roger Federer and make him the sole owner of the record for most Grand Slam titles in men’s singles.

Barty makes winning return: World number one Ashleigh Barty survived a scare on Tuesday.

Barty marked her return to Paris for the first time since her 2019 title triumph by beating American left-hander Bernarda Pera 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

After easing through the first set on Court Philippe Chatrier, Barty went off the boil in the second and called for the trainer at the changeover.

The Australian had arrived on court with a heavy strapping on her leg having also suffered a tournament-ending abdomen injury in Rome two weeks ago.

However, she broke the 70th-ranked Pera for a 4-2 lead in the decider and never looked back.

Fifth seed Elina Svitolina recovered from a 2-5 second set deficit to beat French teenager Oceane Babel 6-2, 7-5.

Svitolina, a three-time quarter-finalist in Paris, will face world number 75 Ann Li of the US for a place in the last 32.

Li marked her French Open debut with a 45-minute 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Margarita Gasparyan.

No.13 seed Jennifer Brady of the US too secured a place in the second round with an easy win against Latvian Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-3. But former French Open champion and No. 12 seed Garbine Muguruza of Spain made an early exit, losing to Ukrainian teenager Marta Kostyuk 1-6, 4-6.

This was 18-year-old Marta’s first win over a top 20 opponent, and it came in 89 minutes against the 2016 French Open champion.

No.25 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia beat Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 7-5, 6-2. Ons will next face Australian wildcard Astra Sharma -- who defeated qualifier Irina Bara or Romania 7-6(5), 6-2 -- in the second round.

After easing to the first set against the junior world No.7 Oceane, Elina nearly paid the price for a lapse in concentration in the second. Leaking 15 unforced errors, frequently from commanding positions in rallies, she dropped serve to fall behind 0-3. Garbine, a two-time Grand Slam title winner, struggled with a medical time-out midway through the match against teenager Marta. She eventually lost for the first time in her career in the opening round of the French Open.

Agencies