Nadal, who is seeded third for the tournament, eased to the opening two sets 6-3, 6-2 against Australia's Alexei Popyrin on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Popyrin threatened to win the third set of the match after breaking Nadal’s serve, but the 34-year-old responded impressively level the scores again.

Victory in a tie-break saw Nadal seal a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) victory.

France’s Richard Gasquet now faces the daunting challenge of trying to win in the second round against Nadal, who has now won 101 matches and lost just two at the French Open during his career.

Gasquet earned a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win in an all-French first-round match against Hugo Gaston.

World number one Novak Djokovic could face Nadal in a semi-final.

The Serbian swept aside United States' Tennys Sandgren 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 in the night match.

Russia's Andrey Rublev was the main casualty in the men’s singles draw today, with the seventh seed suffering a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 3-6, 6-4 defeat to Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.

Home favourite Gael Monfils negotiated his first-round match, with the French player recovering from losing the opening set to beat Spain’s Albert Ramos Viñolas 1-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The women’s singles draw saw world number one Ashleigh Barty come through a three-set match to advance to the second round.

The Australian, the 2019 French Open champion, saw off the challenge of American Bernarda Pera 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Fifth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine also reached the second around after beating French wildcard Oceane Babel 6-2, 7-5.

The main talking point of the opening days of the tournament surrounded Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who announced she would not fulfil media duties ahead of the event.

Osaka withdrew yesterday after revealing she had suffered long bouts of depression.

Her decision came amid a threat from organisers that she may be expelled from the event should she not participate in press conferences, having fined her after the first round.

The four Grand Slam tournaments issued a statement today to offer their support to Osaka.

"On behalf of the Grand Slams, we wish to offer Naomi Osaka our support and assistance in any way possible as she takes time away from the court," a statement read.

"She is an exceptional athlete and we look forward to her return as soon as she deems appropriate.

"Mental health is a very challenging issue, which deserves our utmost attention.

"It is both complex and personal, as what affects one individual does not necessarily affect another.

"We commend Naomi for sharing in her own words the pressures and anxieties she is feeling and we empathise with the unique pressures tennis players may face.

"While players’ wellbeing has always been a priority to the Grand Slams, our intention, together with the WTA, the ATP and the ITF, is to advance mental health and wellbeing through further actions.

"Together as a community we will continue to improve the player experience at our tournaments, including as it relates to media.

"Change should come through the lens of maintaining a fair playing field, regardless of ranking or status.

"Sport requires rules and regulations to ensure that no player has an unfair advantage over another.

"We intend to work alongside the players, the tours, the media and the broader tennis community to create meaningful improvements.

"As Grand Slams, we aim to create the stage for the players to achieve the highest accolades in our sport."

Press conferences continued to impact the tournament, after the Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitová was forced to withdraw from the tournament.

The 11th seed, a two-time Wimbledon champion, announced she had suffered an ankle injury after falling following her post-match press conference on Sunday (May 30).

Kvitová said after an MRI scan a decision was taken with her team that it would be unwise to play on it.