French Open 2012 Scores: Breaking Down Sunday's Best Matches

The first day of the French Open has come and gone but not without a little excitement.

Usually a low-key day without any marquee matches, tennis lovers got the ball rolling strong for what is sure to be a fantastic couple weeks of tennis at Roland Garros in Paris, France.

Local fans got to cheer on some homegrown talent (much to the chagrin of many American tennis fans), and although none of the high-ranked big names made their 2012 debut on the red clay, the ones that were playing brought about a lovely day of tennis.

Here is a look at some of Sunday's best matches.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (5) vs. Andrey Kuznetsov

Jo Wilfried Tsonga (5) defeated Andrey Kuznetsov 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

I wonder if anyone in the crowd was cheering against Tsonga today, and even if they were I am sure they did not make a scene about it.

France's golden boy of tennis right now—ranked fifth at the French Open this year—got his tournament off to a good start.

After a little bit of a falter in the first set against Andrey Kuznetsov, a Russian qualifier, Tsonga stepped up his game, taking the next three sets to take the match.

Kuznetsov came out quick, getting the jump on Tsonga, but the first set did nothing to scare the talented Frenchmen. Tsonga took the game back over and put too much pressure on Kuznetsov, letting him beat himself and forcing him to make 53 unforced errors in the match.

A very good game to start the tournament for Tsonga, getting a strong match under his belt before he plays Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of Germany.

Juan Martin Del Potro (9) vs. Albert Montanes

Juan Martin Del Potro (9) defeated Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-1.

Del Potro came. He played and left. He did not waste any time downing his first victim at this year's French Open, and that will give him two days to rest a nagging knee injury that has been bothering him for the past few weeks.

According to the Toronto Sun, and information that was available through a news conference, Del Potro's knee problems started two weeks ago during the Madrid Open. He would go on to lose in the semifinals of that tournament.

He says of his win in Paris: "I'm glad to go through - I will have two days to work with the physio on my knee. So I have time to recover and to be in good shape for the next match."

The top-ranked Argentinian played an extremely good first game of tennis, and an early game like this could be the start of a solid tournament. The only blemish on the day was his second-set tiebreaker loss, but we all cannot be perfect all the time. 24 of his match-total 39 unforced errors came in that second set.

Three weeks ago Del Potro won the Estoril Open on clay, and if his knee holds up he could be a dark horse at Roland Garros this year.

Andy Roddick (26) vs. Nicolas Mahut

Nicolas Mahut defeated Andy Roddick (26) 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Is this the slow end of Andy Roddick? Another loss in a so-far disappointing season for the American, save for the one win against world No. 3 Roger Federer in Miami.

It has been a steady decline for the onetime top player over the past few years, and this could be the one that ends it all. Roddick is, and always will be, one of my favourites, but efforts like this are never what I expect from him—and I am sure neither does he.

The ball is in his court if he wants to return to top form because I have no doubt he could be capable of it.

Yesterday's loss to Mahut, ranked 88th in the world, was not the best outing by Roddick in his recent dates. Roddick explains to azcentral.com why he lost this opening match game: "I move just horrendously out here. My first step is just so bad on this stuff (clay)."

Credit, however, must be still given to Mahut for his performance, knocking off a player ranked much higher than he was. Mahut converted all seven of his break point chances in the match.

Mahut will now look to keep advancing when he squares off against Slovakian Martin Klizan, who was awarded the 4-0 retired win, against Canadian Frank Dancevic.

Men's Draw Recap

Other seeds that advanced to the second round on Sunday were:

Fernando Verdasco (14) defeated Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-2, 7-6.

Stanislas Wawrinka (18) defeated Flavio Cipolla 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-2.

Marin Cilic (21) defeated Daniel Munoz-De La Nava 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.

Samantha Stosur (6) vs. Elena Baltacha

Samantha Stosur (6) defeated Elena Baltacha 6-4, 6-0.

It took Stosur just over an hour to finish off her first opponent at this year's French Open. Looks like she is on the fast track to get back to the finals, as she did two years ago.

This match up was fairly easy for her, taking on a 68-ranked singles player. She dominated the match converting on five of eight break points, and having 23 winners compared to her opponent's eight.

Stosur, who was critical of the clay at the Madrid Open, had this to say about playing in Paris, which was made available from a news conference and gained from torontosun.com: "It's nice to be on a real clay court again and actually feel like you can play more clay court tennis."

Stosur will look to continue her run when she matches up against Irina Falconi of the United States in her next match. Falconi advanced by beating Edina Gallovits-Hall 3 – 6, 6 – 3, 6 – 1.

Venus Williams vs. Paula Ormaechea

Venus Williams defeated Paula Ormaechea 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

She's back.

Williams, playing in her first major since last August, after the announcement about her diagnosis with Sjogren’s syndrome, was able to hold off the 19-year-old Ormaechea for the win.

Williams was able to counter her 29 unforced errors on the match, with 41 winners and converting seven for seven when able to break. She played well enough to power her way past the youth, but her next test against a highly ranked player may be too much.

Willliams, who is currently ranked 53rd in the world, has only been playing on the tour since March of this year after she sat out of tennis for a while after the announcement of her diagnosis.

Williams will be taking on the winner of third-seeded Aqnieszka Radwanska's match against Bojana Jovanovski.

Women's Draw Recap

Other seeds that advanced through to the second round on Sunday were:

Angelique Kerber (10) defeated Shuai Zhang 6-3, 6-4.

Ana Ivanovic (13) defeated Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino 6-1, 6-1.

Lucie Safarova (20) defeated Anastasiya Yakimova 6-2, 6-0.

Sara Errani (21) defeated Casey Dellacqua 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (26) defeated Mirjana Lucic 6-1, 6-3.