The world tennis number one Rafael Nadal was given a huge fright when he started the defence of his French Open title in Paris last night.
Nadal's giant American opponent John Isner, the world number 39, led the Spaniard two sets to one before the five times champion recovered to win in five sets. They were the first sets dropped by Nadal in a first round match in Paris.
The men's fourth seed Andy Murray had a much easier time in his opening match, brushing aside a French qualifier in straight sets.
The womens 7th seed Maria Sharapova dropped only three games in her first round win over Croatia's Mirjana Lucic, while the 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic made a tearful exit after her loss to the unseeded Swede Johanna Larsson.
