Passport to RG, Day 1—Halep, Vika, Wawrinka win; Gauff, Sinner shine

From first ball to last, keep up to date with the latest from Roland Garros every day on TENNIS.com. We'll have match updates, photos, video highlights and more in our daily notebook: Passport to RG.

In New York, we were used to seeing Alexander Zverev chilling out without a shirt. With Paris presenting a much different weather forecast, the German was layered up for his late match with Dennis Novak.

All things considered, there was hardly anything cold about Zverev's game in his first appearance since losing the US Open final from two sets up, and an opportunity to close it out on his racquet in a decisive set, against Dominic Thiem. Ten aces to 2 double faults and a +5 winners to unforced errors ratio results in a solid day at the office, a 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 win, after beginning the match in a 2-5 hole.

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He was up two sets. He then saw sets three and four whiz by. But Juan Ignacio Londero seemed primed to win in the fifth, yet couldn't get across the line against countryman Federico Delbonis. It would take Londero FIVE attempts to serve out the match after combining with Delbonis for 11 breaks of serve in a gripping decider. His winning scoreline after four hours and 54 minutes: 6-4, 7-6 (1), 1-6, 2-6, 14-12.

Rome finalist Diego Schwartzman didn't have an easy opener by any means but he'll be more than pleased with opening performance. The No. 9 seed gets through comfortably in heavy conditions, 6-0, 6-1, 6-3, against Miomir Kecmanovic, who only two weeks ago, triumphed in Kitzbuhel on clay for his first ATP title.

US Open finalist Alexander Zverev has taken a two-set lead over Dennis Novak on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

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It's been an emotional month for Benoit Paire: he was withdrawn prior to the start of the US Open after testing positive for coronavirus and remained in self-isolation until cleared to travel. He next played in Rome, losing his singles opener handily to Jannik Sinner. When he arrived in Hamburg, he registered a new positive test and was confined to his hotel room until testing negative the day before his first match (he would retire down a set and a break to Casper Ruud).

Today, Paire managed to put all of that behind him to score his first victory since the ATP restart. The No. 23 seed defeated Soonwoo Kwon, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4, to set a second-round encounter with Federico Coria.

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After falling behind 0-2 in the second set, 16-year-old Coco Gauff took six of seven games to ease past 2019 semifinalist Johanna Konta, 6-3, 6-3. Gauff now has the special stat of winning her main draw debut at all four majors. The American will look to further that achievement in the second round when she faces Martina Trevisan, having advanced to third round or better in her other three Slam debuts.

What looked to be an intriguing first-round matchup turned out to be a one-sided affair. Stan Wawrinka, winner of this event five years ago, outclassed Andy Murray, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, converting six of eight break point chances to stifle the 2016 runner-up. Murray was playing his first clay-court match since falling in five to Wawrinka in the 2017 semifinals.

With Suzanne-Lenglen running long, Alexander Zverev and Dennis Novak were moved to Chatrier with weather for the evening remaining up in the air. On Lenglen, Coco Gauff took the opening set over ninth seed Johanna Konta, 6-3.

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David Goffin: "The most difficult for me, it's like to be fresh mentally on the court and to save energy to give everything on the court. That's why I think today it was the toughest part. It's just that I was a little bit empty, no energy today."

Simona Halep: "The perfect present was that I won today, of course. It was really special day playing on Roland Garros on my birthday. So it's going to be pretty unique maybe forever. I cannot celebrate much, because I have to stay in the room, so I will have a bottle of water (smiling)."

Kei Nishikori: "It is tough. You have to play seeded player in the early round. But I feel like I'm lucky because I'm supposed to get zero points. I haven't played from US Open. It's been one year. I could have no ranking."

Maria Sakkari: "It's not going to jump as much as last year or in hot conditions. Of course, big servers don't have an advantage because you don't get out of your serve a lot of power and a lot of spin. You cannot get a lot of kick."

Venus Williams:

Q.Do you think will you play again this year, do you think? No. There is nowhere to go. And even if there was, I'm done, anyway, so...

Q.Is that at the moment your feeling is you'll be back next year? Yeah, definitely.

Jeremy Chardy saw his two-set lead, and a match point in a third set tiebreaker, evaporate. Left-handed qualifier Jurij Rodionov clawed his way back to prevail, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4, 10-8, on Court Suzanne-Lenglen after four hours and 36 minutes. Chardy had saved four match points at various stages in the decider before bowing out. Rodionov was 0-6 in tour-level matches prior to today.

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Down a break in the third, Caroline Garcia dug in to battle past No. 17 seed Anett Kontaveit, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The Frenchwoman is looking to get to the second week of a major for the first time since 2018 Roland Garros, when she appeared in the round of 16.

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Dan Evans: world No. 34

Kei Nishikori: world No. 35

Little separated them coming in. Little separated them on court.

But it's Nishikori who prevails, 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-4, in three hours and 49 minutes, improving his remarkable five-set record to 24-6. Nishikori has reached the quarterfinals here in the past three "odd" years.

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For the first time in her WTA career, Venus Williams goes a season without a major match win.

The 40-year-old saved two match points to force Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to serve it out. The Slovakian held her nerve to close out a 6-4, 6-4 victory, the second time she's defeated Venus at the Paris major (2014 second round).

Taylor Fritz held off Tomas Machac, 7-5, 7-6 (2), 1-6, 2-6, 6-3, to become the third American man to advance on the day.

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After securing his first tour-level win, 20-year-old Sebastian Korda talked about taking his own tennis path with Steve Weissman and Mark Knowles. Korda gets John Isner next.

Down two sets, 252nd-ranked qualifier Tomas Machac has rallied to force a decider against No. 27 seed Taylor Fritz. The 19-year-old Czech is playing his first Grand Slam event and making his tour-level debut. What a first impression this would be if he completes the comeback.

Fritz's countryman Isner, seeded 21st, dispatched wild card Elliot Benchetrit, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3. Isner was clean off the ground, hitting 28 winners to 14 unforced errors. Fellow American Venus Williams find herself down a set and a break to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

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Celebrating her 29th birthday, world No. 2 Simona Halep wins the final 10 games against Sara Sorribes Tormo to confidently move into the second round. Halep, who won her first major here two years ago, has not lost since resuming her season, winning titles in Prague and Rome, and has 15 straight victories dating back to her February title run in Dubai.

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Belgium's Elise Mertens picked up her 16th singles win since the WTA tour reopened in early August, advancing past Margarita Gasparyan, 6-2, 6-3. Mertens reached the Prague final, falling to Halep, and later took out Australian Open champ Sofia Kenin en route to the US Open quarterfinals.

Top seed Halep was down 2-4 to Sorribes Tormo in her opening set, but in taking a more aggressive baseline position and opening the court with swing volleys, won the final four games to move in front.

Venus Williams is underway with Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who has a head-to-head win this year in Monterrey and beat Venus at Roland Garros in a 2014 second-round upset.

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"This makes me feel really old."

Martina Navratilova after seeing that qualifier Sebastian Korda, son of 1992 finalist Petr Korda, notched his first major main draw with by defeating Andreas Seppi, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

"I used to play against his grandfather. I was younger, thank goodness!", chimed in Navratilova.

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Poor Kei Nishikori. He shows just how tough it is out there and would lose his opening set, 6-1, to No. 32 seed Dan Evans.

A snapshot around the grounds. Umbrellas, layers and masks are a must. (Photos by AP)

Making his tournament debut, 19-year-old Jannik Sinner went on a mid-match tear to run away from No. 11 seed David Goffin, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3—the first player to ever win under Chatrier's roof. Playing like he could do no wrong, the Italian came up with a nifty backhand around the net post at one stage, as Goffin could only react in disbelief.

Meanwhile, US Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka rolled into the second round. After pushing to depart the court earlier due to unfavorable conditions when leading 2-1, Azarenka would drop just two games once resuming in dismissing Danka Kovinic, 6-1, 6-2.

Fellow seeds Maria Sakkari and Ekaterina Alexandrova also advanced.

Raise your hand if you had world No. 182 Kamilla Rakhimova as the first player into the win column. The 19-year-old gets her first win at a major and Top 100 victory by eliminating US Open quarterfinalist Shelby Rogers, 6-2, 6-3. The American previously reached the final eight here in 2016.

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Three games into their match, Victoria Azarenka and Danka Kovinic have left their court after the Belarusian voiced her displeasure with the conditions. "I'm down to play whenever but this is getting ridiculous."

"Do you want to wait on court?," she later asked Kovinic after telling an on-court supervisor, "I'm not waiting here a couple minutes."

Kovinic would respond, "No," before Azarenka added "No. It's ridiculous. It's too cold. What's the point? Sitting here like ducks."

The opening day of play at Roland Garros has arrived four months later than anticipated, but it was worth the wait. Will rain wreak havoc on the fun? It's cold, with temps in the low 50s, and wind is present, but with a brand new roof on Court Philippe Chatrier, we're guaranteed some form of action carries on. Attendance on the grounds is limited to 1,000.

Pre-tournament women's favorite Simona Halep, the 2018 champion, celebrates her 29th birthday with a match against Sara Sorribes Tormo. Red-hot Victoria Azarenka and former finalist Venus Williams are also among the names slated to take the court early on, while a tasty opener between David Goffin and Jannik Sinner gets us started on Chatrier.

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Later, Coco Gauff makes her main draw debut against 2019 semifinalist Johanna Konta, and Stan Wawrinka welcomes Andy Murray back to Paris for his first match here in three years, when the Swiss edged the former No. 1 in a gritty five-set tussle.

Home favorites on the card include Caroline Garcia, Benoit Paire and Elliot Benchetrit, who takes on John Isner. Qualifier Sebastian Korda seeks his first major main draw win against Andreas Seppi.