Serena, Djokovic, Nadal blaze into second round

PARIS – Even before Serena Williams quickly and easily seized control of her first-round match Tuesday, things were shaping up rather well for her at the French Open.

Williams’ bid for her 22nd Grand Slam title, which would equal Steffi Graf’s Open-era record, began with a nothing-to-see-here 6-2, 6-0 victory over 77th-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia in all of 42 minutes.

Not that she wished it had been more of a workout.

“It was a little short for me, but I think in my career, if I don’t have it by now, I need to look into something different. So I’m OK - I’m OK with that,” said the top-seeded Williams, who took the last 10 games after a so-so start.

What happened earlier on Day 3 was more surprising - and perhaps just as significant for the defending champion: Two of the top five seeded women exited the clay-court tournament.

The top-seeded man, Novak Djokovic, was not tested at all, defeating 95th-ranked Yen-hsun, Lu 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. And Rafael Nadal was so at ease in a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory over 100th-ranked Sam Groth that the nine-time French Open champion allowed himself a smile after a dazzling, back-to-the-net, through-the-legs passing shot winner.

No. 2 Andy Murray was never that at peace during his struggle of a match, which was suspended because of darkness Monday night in the fourth set.

Murray lost the opening two sets against 37-year-old Radek Stepanek, a qualifier from the Czech Republic who was the oldest man in the field, then twice was two points from losing while serving down 5-4 in the fifth on Tuesday.