• French Open

Ward and Wawrinka out, Djokovic and Nadal cruise

James Ward came through three qualifying matches © Getty Images

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James Ward's run at the French Open has come to an end in the opening round as the Briton was beaten by Tommy Robredo at Roland Garros.

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Ward, who became the first British male to qualify for the French Open since John Lloyd in 1973, took the opening set against the Spaniard, but was unable to capitalise on his advantage as the 17th seed fought back to claim a 4-6 6-4 6-2 6-4 victory.

"I started really well," Ward said. "I gave myself a chance and I'm pleased with my efforts. It's a positive and I'm looking forward to taking the momentum into the next few weeks on grass, where I'll have a few good chances."

En route to the quarter-finals last year, Robredo made history by becoming only the second man in history to win from two sets to love down in three consecutive matches. Robredo will face Kenny de Schepper in the next round.

Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka was knocked out of the second Grand Slam of the season after losing 6-4 5-7 6-2 6-0 to Gullermo Garcia-Lopez.

World No.3 Wawrinka, who won the Monte Carlo Masters to claim his maiden Masters triumph, committed 62 unforced errors as Garcia-Lopez recorded his second victory over a top 10 player in 2014.

Reigning and eight-time champion Rafael Nadal reached the second round with a 6-0 6-3 6-0 win over Robby Ginepri to collect his 60th win in 61 matches at Roland Garros.

Nadal took the opening set in 29 minutes, but Ginepri began to challenge the Spaniard by holding his serve three times in the second set as the score was level at 3-3. However, Nadal powered to victory by taking the following nine games as he seeks to become the first player to win five French Opens in succession.

Novak Djokovic booked his place in the second round of the French Open with a comfortable win over Joao Sousa in straight sets.

The winner of the Rome Masters came through a rain-interrupted encounter 6-1 6-2 6-4 to set up a second-round clash against Jeremy Chardy, the player who defeated Roger Federer in Rome.

Djokovic, a runner-up at Roland Garros in 2012, is eyeing a maiden triumph in Paris as he looks to add the only Grand Slam missing to his trophy cabinet. If the Serb were to win the French Open he would become the eighth man to complete the career Grand Slam.

"For both of us, it was heavy conditions, ugly tennis," Djokovic said after collecting his 25th win in 28 matches this year. "I dropped a couple of service games for no reason, but I'm just happy I got through today.''

Gilles Simon collected his 50th win at a Grand Slam after beating Mate Pavic 6-1 6-1 6-3, but world No.10 Kei Nishikori was knocked out by Martin Klizan after losing 7-6(4) 6-1 6-2 to the player ranked 59 in the world.

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