Kevin Anderson began his ninth Roland Garros campaign with a comfortable win, defeating Paolo Lorenzi 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in a rain-interrupted first-round clash on Tuesday.
The New York Open champion notched his fifth win in as many FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against the Italian, dropping five first-serve points (39/44) and firing 18 aces to progress after one hour and 42 minutes.
Anderson, who reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final at the Mutua Madrid Open this month, is bidding to reach his maiden quarter-final in Paris this year. The World No. 7 has reached the Round of 16 on three occasions (2013-14, 2017).
The 2017 US Open runner-up will face Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas for a spot in the third round. Cuevas defeated Argentina Open finalist Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 after two hours and 10 minutes. The 32-year-old converted seven of 13 break point chances and hit 32 winners to advance.
Feliciano Lopez's record-tying 65th consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearance ended in defeat at the first hurdle. Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky defeated the Spanish left-hander 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 after one hour and 54 minutes. The 32-year-old hit five aces and won 72 per cent of first-serve points to book a second-round encounter with Mischa Zverev. The German, who had lost his past three tour-level matches, defeated countryman Florian Mayer 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(3). The left-hander hit 37 winners, including eight aces, en route to victory.
Did You Know?
Kevin Anderson appears at Roland Garros this year with his highest seeding at a Grand Slam. The No. 6 seed owns a 15-8 record on the Parisian clay.