Alex de Minaur and Daria Kasatkina have emphatically kickstarted their Roland Garros campaigns with statement victories on Monday night (AEST).
The duo recorded straight-set wins over their respective opponents to return to the second round of the claycourt major. They join James Duckworth in the round-of-64 after he defeated Gabriel Diallo on Day 1.
> READ: Duckworth drives into Roland Garros second round
Despite a spirited challenge from British qualifier and Grand Slam main-draw debutant Toby Samuel, De Minaur advanced to the second round in Paris for the fourth-straight year with a 6-4 6-4 6-2 win.
The world No.8’s experience proved vital, using his tennis IQ to outsmart Samuel. Clutch serving, paired with discipline during rallies–wh ich led to the Brit's impatient unforced errors – saw De Minaur progress in just under two hours.
“I’m happy to get my campaign started. You know, [it’s] never easy starting first match of a tournament, but to get the win in straight sets, I thought I played a very consistent match,” said De Minaur, who was pleased to build on the claycourt momentum he built as a Hamburg semifinalist last week.
While noting it was a "quick turnaround from Hamburg, which was kind of cold and rainy to coming here where it's very hot and liveyl.", De Minaur pointed to his mindset, solid serving and adaptabiilty as positives ahead of a second-round meeting with Belgian youngster Alexander Blockx.
"I feel good. I feel happy with the way I'm playing, and I'm excited for the challenge," De Minaur said of Blockx, a winner over lucky loser Coleman Wong in the first round.
Kasatkina, returning to the site of her most successful Grand Slam, also swiftly progressed, defeating Turkish No.1 Zeynep Sonmez 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 39 minutes to advance.
In a match where consolidating breaks of serve were hard to come by, the world No.53 was able to hold serve when it mattered the most. Kasatkina won 62 per cent of points on her first serve, compared to Sonmez’s 53 per cent, to record her 25th victory at Roland Garros.
It adds to an impressive claycourt swing for the 29-year-old, following a WTA 125 crown in Spain, as well as a quarterfinal appearance at the WTA 500 tournament in Strasbourg, France last week.
"Today was one of the matches where I think maybe we didn't produce, like, the fabulous level of tennis. But, you know, it's very hot, the conditions are tough.," Kastakina said.
"The ball is flying everywhere. ... it's [the] first match of a Slam. I mean, that's a lot of things to go through, but honestly, I think a couple of weeks ago I would probably lose this match Today I was able to win it. Maybe not playing my best, but being there mentally, you know, like very present."
Kasatkina will seek to extend her stay at Roland Garros when she takes on Swiss qualifier Susan Bandecchi in the next round.
Met with the difficult proposition of facing four-time champion Iga Swiatek in the opening round, Emerson Jones was unable to record her maiden Grand Slam triumph. She fell to the world No.3 6-1 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
But the Queenslander relished the experience, noting that "not many 17-year-olds" were able to compete on such a stage.
"I'm pretty happy with how I played and how professional I tried to be. Obviously there's a lot of gaps that need to be filled, but I'm really excited to see where this takes me," said Jone.
De Minaur and Kasatkina's victories opened a bumper day in Paris, which continued when Thanasi Kokkinakis rebounded from 5-2 down in the fifth set to complete another famous five-set win in Paris.
However, Maya Joint, Talia Gibson, Rinky Hijikata and Aleksandar Vukic exited the tournament in round one.
Alexei Popyrin, Adam Walton and Kimberly Birrell will compete on Day 3.
You can watch the Australians in action on the channels of the Nine Network and Stan Sport.