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Blame ESPN if Murray fails?!

John Isner forced Rafael Nadal to dig deep © Getty Images

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• Profile: Elena Baltacha | John Isner | Andy Murray | Rafael Nadal | Sam Querrey

Blame ESPN
If Andy Murray doesn't win the French Open this year fingers may point in ESPN's direction. The Scot has revealed he will not be receiving any help from adidas Player Development coach Darren Cahill, whom he has been working with for the past three weeks, at Roland Garros because the Australian has TV duties with ESPN.

Speaking after his first round win over Eric Prodon, Murray said: "Darren can't help me this week but [my friend and hitting partner] Dani [Vallverdu] will be helping, and also the rest of the adidas team. Sven Groeneveld is there. He's been around so many Grand Slams. It's more just having that experience around. It's not like I'm necessarily talking to him about tactics or so, but like after the match. I was just explaining how I was feeling, and he knows that it's normal not to feel your best in the first match, that it's tricky conditions, and, you know, the most important thing is to get through."

Querrey finally off the mark
Sam Querrey finally recorded his first victory at the French Open, beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 to reach round two.

The American arrived at this year's tournament with an embarrassing 0-4 record at Roland Garros. That dismal run looked like being extended after the 24th seed saw the first set pass him by. However, perhaps inspired by his past failings, he recovered to reel off the next three sets and book a place in the next round. After breaking his duck, what's the betting Querrey crashes in the next round?

Razzano's bravery
On Court Philippe Chatrier, France's Virginie Razzano made an emotional speech after losing her first round match to Jarmila Gajdosova - just eight days after the death of her coach and fiance Stephane Vidal.

The Frenchwoman, who took to the court wearing a black ribbon, crashed out of the tournament 6-3 6-1, but her courage was something to behold.

Reflecting on her performance, she said: "I had a lot of emotion and pain. I grabbed all my courage. I don't have much. I'm very fragile. I feel lonely, and even though there are many people around me supporting me I still have the strength in me that keeps me standing up and moving on step by step."

Nervy Nadal
John Isner is destined to be forever remembered as the marathon man after his epic win over Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon next year, but he almost wrote another dramatic chapter in his career against Rafael Nadal. The American was two sets to one up against his Spanish opponent, who has only lost one match at the tournament, before eventually losing 6-4 6-7(2) 6-7(2) 6-2 6-4. Still, a fine effort from Isner, as Nadal acknowledged: "Tough, tough moments for me. I played too nervous, in my opinion." At least he avoided Mahut's fate of wading through another 60 games.

British boost
You wait 17 years for a British woman to make it into the second round, and then two manage it in two days. Heather Watson broke the mould on Monday, and now Elena Baltacha has joined her in the second round thanks to a 7-5 6-2 win over Sloane Stephens, the 18-year-old American who is considered one of the hottest prospects Stateside.

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