French Open PHOTOS: Federer breezes through first round

Images from Day 1 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros on Sunday

Roger Federer's quest for a second French Open title started with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 first-round win against Colombian lucky loser Alejandro Falla on Sunday.

The second-seeded Swiss, who has a record 17 Grand Slam titles to his name, barely broke sweat in his flashy pink shorts and lilac shirt as he booked a second-round meeting with either Spain's Marcel Granollers or German qualifier Matthias Bachinger.

After misfiring a few backhands, Federer, who has not won a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2012, pocketed the opening set when Falla buried a backhand into the net.

Federer, who held serve throughout, broke twice in the second, and rounded it off on Falla's serve when the Colombian failed to return a booming crosscourt forehand.

Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori avoided a first-round mishap against local favourite Paul-Henri Mathieu to advance on the first day of the French Open with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 victory on Sunday.

Nishikori, who won the claycourt Barcelona Open last month, struggled early on but he was eventually too quick for the world number 123.

Mathieu, who had proved in the past in tight matches against Roger Federer and nine-times Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal he could be a tough nut to crack, went a break up in the second set but that was as close as he got to causing an upset.

Nishikori will next face either Australian Marinko Matosevic or Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci.

Stanislas Wawrinka reacted angrily on Sunday after an article on the French Open website mentioned his private life.

"Completely stupid article. It's the official website of a Grand Slam, so I hope the guy who did that article is not a journalist," the eighth-seeded Swiss told a news conference after beating Turkey's Marsel Ilhan 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round at Roland Garros.

"I also hope the guy who is supposed to check all the article on the website is not working anymore for the tournament.

"Because for me, for a Grand Slam website, it should be an article about the tennis and that's it."

Wawrinka told organisers he was not happy about the article, which was no longer visible on the tournament's website (www.rolandgarros.com) on Sunday.

"I saw the article last night. I told the tournament that I wasn't really happy about it, and I don't think it was great for the tournament to do that. That's it," he said.

Halep staggers into second round

Last year's runner-up Simona Halep huffed and puffed past Russian Evgeniya Rodina as the French Open began on Sunday, the Romanian reaching the second round 7-5, 6-4.

The third seed was never really threatened but let her guard down too many times for comfort against a willing opponent on a sun-drenched court Philippe Chatrier.

Halep, the top name in action in the women's draw on day one, broke twice to open a 4-1 lead, only for Rodina to hit back and level at 5-5.

The Russian let another service game slip from her hands with a double fault and Halep clinched the set with a drop shot.

She broke decisively in the ninth game of the second set and wrapped it up with an ace.

"I was a little bit stressed today because it is never easy to start such a tournament," Halep, who lost to Russian Maria Sharapova in last year's final, told a courtside interviewer.

She will next face either Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni or American Lauren Davis.