Fourth seed Tomas Berdych eased into the second round at the French Open with a 6-0 7-5 6-3 victory over Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka.
Berdych has not made it to the semi-finals at Roland Garros since 2010 and has lost at the first hurdle on five occasions, but the Czech was never in danger on Suzanne Lenglen, winning in one hour and 47 minutes.
The victory is Berdych's 10th on clay this year and the 28-year-old said he feels in good form as he bids to end his wait for a first grand slam title.
"I just came into the tournament after some very, very good weeks on the clay, which is very important to me," said Berdych, who will face his veteran compatriot Radek Stepanek in round two.
"I've been playing a lot of matches, and winning a lot of them, and also in between those weeks I had some very good preparation.
"So everything has been aimed for this tournament, it's one of the slams, and I definitely want to go and do well.
"I'm feeling physically and mentally strong, and that's the best possible start that I can have.
"I just now have to be patient, keep working for the two weeks, and try to go as far as I can."
Source: PA
