PARIS(AP) Midway through the third set, Rafael Nadal sat in his changeover chair smiling and talking to the chair umpire, who responded with a laugh.
Not that Nadal wasn't churning inside. But the four-time champion made his first-round match at the French Open look easy Tuesday.
Nadal beat 18-year-old wild card Gianni Mina of France 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, and it helped to face a player ranked 655th with a lifetime tour record of 0-1.
First day here is always a little bit more nervous than usual,'' Nadal said.I think I played bad, but I won anyway, without problems, so that's always important.''
The match was Nadal's first at Roland Garros since he lost to Robin Soderling in the fourth round a year ago.
He said he was nervous?'' three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander said.That's a scary thing for his opponents, because that means he wants his title back more than ever before.''
This year Nadal's again the king of clay, with a 16-0 record and three titles on the surface since mid-April. He's the tournament favorite but bristles at the label, mindful that top-ranked Roger Federer lurks in the other half of the draw, eager to claim a second successive French Open title.
The only favorite is the players who are going to be in the final after two Sundays,'' Nadal said.Right now it's very difficult to speak about the favorite. I know, sure, I am one of the players that if I play my best tennis, I'm going to have chances to play a good tournament, but a lot of players think the same.''
The women's draw is considered wide open, and the contenders include Justine Henin, who took a big step in her return from retirement Tuesday by beating Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 6-3. The match was Henin's first at Roland Garros since 2007, when she won the tournament for the fourth time.
Kimiko Date Krumm also made a successful Roland Garros comeback, beating former No. 1 Dinara Safina 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. The 39-year-old Date Krumm, back following a 12-year retirement, was playing in the tournament for the first time since 1996.
The only older woman to win a match at Roland Garros in the Open era was Virginia Wade, when she was 39 in 1985.
Safina, the French Open runner-up in 2008 and 2009, has been hampered since January by a back injury.
I will have to swallow this loss and keep on moving,'' she said.After rain, always sun comes.''
Safina was the only seeded woman to lose. Fellow Russian Maria Sharapova, seeded 12th, began another bid for the only major title she has yet to win by beating qualifier Ksenia Pervak 6-3, 6-2.
I think I have a great game for the clay,'' said Sharapova, who is 24-7 at Roland Garros but has yet to make a final.It's a matter of doing it.''
After three days of play, the first round was still not complete. The final match between Xavier Malisse and Simon Greul was suspended in the third set because of rain.
Two seeded men were eliminated - No. 18 Sam Querrey and No. 26 Juan Monaco. Querrey lost to fellow American Robby Ginepri 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-2, then pulled out of doubles and said he was heading home to California for a break.
I didn't enjoy myself on the court. Wanted off the court,'' Querrey said.It has been like that on and off for like a while. So I'm going home.''
No. 6-seeded Andy Roddick earned his first five-set win at the French Open since 2001, rallying past Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
The match was Roddick's first on clay this year. He withdrew from this month's Madrid Masters because of illness.
There was a lot of ugliness out there today,'' he said.I've been saying all week if I can get through the first one or the second one, then maybe I will start hitting my stride and playing a little bit better. But it's just a matter of surviving and advance.''
Nadal went into his opening match with the same attitude. After practicing well in preparation, he committed 28 unforced errors against Mina, faced nine break points and wasn't surprised by his patchy play.
I remember the four times that I won here. I always had first matches really bad,'' Nadal said.I know I have to refocus and calm down and move forward. I think I will have no problems.''
Mina, the runner-up in juniors last year, was the youngest player in the men's draw. The Frenchman was grateful for the chance to face Nadal.
This is what I was looking for from the baseline - something very physical, a true match, a fight,'' Mina said.The quality of his tennis is so incredible. He had no weaknesses.''