PARIS — 5:39 p.m.
Japan's fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori is off to a better start than at the 2014 French Open, easing through 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 against French wild card Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Carrying an injury, Nishikori disappointed with a first-round exit at the French last year but rebounded by making the U.S. Open final.
Winning a high 79 percent of points on his first serve and hammering down seven aces, Nishikori took 2 hours, 10 minutes to brush Mathieu off the Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Japan started with five men in the French main draw, the most since 1967, when there were six, and the most at any major since Wimbledon in 1973.