体坛英语新闻：Federer, Serena win opening matches at French Open

PARIS, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Top seeds Roger Federer and Serena Williams both overcame their first round opponents at the French Open on Monday.

The fourth-seeded British talent Andy Murray was dragged into a marathon fight against French Richard Gasquet, battling back from two sets down to outplayed the home player.

The men's defending champion Federer advanced quite comfortably while the women's world No. 1 Williams struggled for a while to find her pace.

Federer, 28, met little trouble before defeating Australian Peter Luczak 6-4, 6-1 and 6-2. The Swiss world No 1 will play Alejandro Falla from Colombia in the next round.

USA's Serena Williams returns the ball to Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele during their first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Monday, May 24, 2010.

"It was like a perfect match to get off the French Open campaign," Federer summed up. Although the reigning champion thought it was a bit slippery on today's Philippe Chatrier court, but he didn't have many problems with his footwork.

"Just as I said before, the more I play on clay, the more natural it is to me," said Federer, who have claimed a record of 15 Grand Slam champion titles, but there was only one from Roland Garros.

After Federer's easy win, Williams suffered a lot in the same court while against Federer's compatriot Stefanie Voegele.

The American star couldn't take the first set until the tie break, but finally got her rhythm by winning the second set in 6-2.