French Open results 2014: Rafael Nadal, favorites dominate Thursday

Thursday may have been first day of the 2014 French Open that felt something like “normal.” Upsets have dominated headlines, particularly on the women’s draw where No. 1 Serena Williams and No. 2 Li Na have already been eliminated. On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal was seen as a possible upset risk due to a few shaky performances heading into the tournament. He showed Thursday why he is still the No. 1 player on the men’s side, however.

The 27-year-old Spaniard faced an up-and-coming 20-year-old Austrian in Dominic Thiem, but quickly snuffed any worries that he wouldn’t be able to keep up. Nadal won the match in straight sets -- 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 -- by being the more disciplined player. Thiem clearly had the more powerful serve, but he also committed 41 unforced errors in 149 total points. Nadal took Thiem to break point 10 times, and won seven of those opportunities.

The next highest-seeded men in play, No. 5 David Ferrer and No. 7 Andy Murray, followed Nadal’s lead, each dropping just seven games on their way to straight-set victories. More surprising, perhaps, was that top-ranked women’s players also had easy days. No. 4 Simona Halep, No. 5 Petra Kvitova, No. 6 Jelena Jankovic and No. 10 Sara Errani all won in straight sets, and just two seeded women lost a day after six fell.

Pacing the way for the United States were women’s No. 15 Sloane Stephens -- who dropped just four games in a straight-set win over Polona Hercog -- and unseeded Jack Sock and Donald Young on the men’s side. Sock, just 21 years old, defeated fellow American Steve Johnson in straight sets to advance to the third round. Young, 24, upset No. 26 Feliciano Lopez in a match that turned on a 7-1 tiebreak win in the second set.

Scores from Thursday (Americans in bold):

Men’s singles schedule:

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. Dominic Thiem -- 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 David Ferrer def. Simone Bolelli -- 6-2, 6-3, 6-2
No. 7 Andy Murray def. Marinko Matosevic -- 6-3, 6-1, 6-3
No. 12 Richard Gasquet def. Carlos Berlocq -- 7-6 (12), 6-4, 6-4
No. 14 Fabio Fognini def. Thomaz Bellucci -- 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (9)
No. 19 Kevin Anderson def. Axel Michon -- 6-2, 6-3, 6-2
No. 23 Gael Monfils def. Jan-Lennard Struff -- 7-6 (11), 6-4, 6-1
No. 24 Fernando Verdasco def. Pablo Cuevas -- 4-6, 6-7 (14), 7-5, 6-4, 6-3
Donald Young def. No. 26 Feliciano Lopez -- 6-3, 7-6 (8), 6-3
No. 28 Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Denis Istomin -- 6-3, 7-6 (12), 6-2
No. 32 Andreas Seppi def. Juan Monaco -- 6-2, 6-4, 6-4
Dusan Lajovic def. Jurgen Zopp -- 6-2, 6-4, 6-4
Ivo Karlovic def. Andreas Haider-Maurer -- 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
Jack Sock def. Steve Johnson -- 7-5, 6-4, 6-2

Women’s singles schedule:

No. 4 Simona Halep def. Heather Watson -- 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 Petra Kvitova def. Marina Erakovic -- 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 Jelena Jankovic def. Kurumi Nara -- 7-5, 6-0
No. 10 Sara Errani def. Dinah Pfizenmaier -- 6-2, 6-4
No. 11 Ana Ivanovic def. Elina Svitolina -- 7-5, 6-2
No. 15 Sloane Stephens def. Polona Hercog -- 6-1, 6-3
Julia Glushko def. No. 21 Kirsten Flipkens -- 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
No. 22 Ekaterina Makarova def. Coco Vandeweghe -- 6-4, 6-3
No. 23 Lucie Safarova def. Casey Dellacqua -- 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
Kiki Bertens def. No. 24 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova -- 5-7, 6-4, 3-0 (Ret.)
No. 26 Sorana Cirstea def. Teliana Pereira -- 6-2, 7-5
No. 27 Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Camila Giorgi -- 7-5 (12), 6-3
No. 28 Andrea Petkovic def. Stefanie Voegele -- 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Paula Ormaechea def. Monica Niculescu -- 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
Pauline Parmentier def. Yaroslava Shvedova -- 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Kristina Mladenovic def. Alison Riske -- 7-6 (12), 3-6, 6-3
Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor def. Magdalena Rybarikova -- 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
Silvia Soler-Espinosa def. Yanina Wickmayer -- 6-2, 6-4