French Open 2019 Results: Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic Cruise to Easy Wins

Defending champion Simona Halep was made to work hard for her place in Round 3 of the French Open, as she eventually beat Magda Linette 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

The third seed had three match points in the second set, only to let them slip and allow Linette to push the tussle into a decider. However, Halep kept her cool in the third, grabbing an early break and taking the impetus out of her opponent's comeback.

Earlier in the day, world No. 1 Naomi Osaka came through a tough match with Victoria Azarenka in three sets, while Serena Williams was a straight-set winner over Kurumi Nara.

In the men's draw, top seed Novak Djokovic dominated Henri Laaksonen, while Dominic Thiem was pushed to four sets by Alexander Bublik.

Here are the standout results from Thursday's play in Paris and a recap of some of the best action.

Selected Round 2 Results

Women's Draw

(1) Naomi Osaka bt. Victoria Azarenka: 4-6, 7-5, 6-3

(3) Simona Halep bt. Magda Linette: 6-4, 5-7, 6-3

(8) Ashleigh Barty bt. Danielle Collins: 7-5, 6-1

(10) Serena Williams bt. Kurumi Nara: 6-3, 6-2

Amanda Anisimova bt. (11) Aryna Sabalenka: 6-4, 6-2

Iga Swiatek bt. (16) Wang Qiang: 6-3, 6-0

Men's Draw

(1) Novak Djokovic bt. Henri Laaksonen: 6-1, 6-4, 6-3

(4) Dominic Thiem bt. Alexander Bublik: 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5

(5) Alexander Zverev bt. Mikael Ymer: 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (3)

(8) Juan Martin del Potro bt. Yoshihito Nishioka: 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-2

(13) Borna Coric bt. Lloyd Harris: 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (2)

For a look at all Thursday's results, visit RolandGarros.com.

Recap

Having been taken to three sets by Ajla Tomljanovic in her first match, Halep would've wanted a routine win in Round 2.

Initially it appeared as though that would materialise, as the champion took the opener, playing some sublime shots:

After continuing to dominate, she was in position to serve out the second. However, from 5-3 up on serve, Halep lost four games in a row, with Linette capitalising on some nervy play from the Romanian on three match points.

It's to Halep's credit that she was eventually able to recover from that setback and breeze through the third set. Even so, if she's to make it back-to-back French Open successes, improvements are needed.

Earlier on, Osaka dug deep when a set down for the second consecutive match to keep her hopes of a third Grand Slam in a row alive. 

Her message was clear on social media after the recovery:

Afterwards, she praised her team for helping her recent run of results:

While clay doesn't appear to be her most comfortable surface, Osaka has the determination and mentality to get through matches at Roland Garros. The top seed will be hopeful of a less taxing encounter against Katerina Siniakova in the next round, though.

As for Williams, it took her just under an hour to make it through at the expense of Nara. The three-time Roland Garros champion displayed far too much class for her opponent and was able to utilise her power to win points quickly.

The 37-year-old reflected on an excellent performance and the 801st main-draw win of her professional career:

On the men's side of the draw, Djokovic showed why he is the top seed for this event, barely getting into second gear against Laaksonen.

Having won the last three major events, the world No. 1 is clearly playing with a swagger and will pose a big challenge to Rafael Nadal's dominant run at Roland Garros this year. Per the ATP Media Info account, he was ruthless on Thursday:

As for Thiem, there were some signs of nervousness in the second set, although he was eventually able to show his class in the third and fourth stanzas against the unorthodox Bublik.

One of the standout matches of the day involved Juan Martin del Potro, as the eighth seed outlasted a determined Yoshihito Nishioka in a five-set encounter.