French Open 2020: Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal Wins Highlight Monday's Results

The second day of the French Open saw some major stars in play, most notably Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, who both came away with victories.

Below, we'll break down the day's results and storylines. 

Men's Top Results

(2) Rafael Nadal def. Egor Gerasimov, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2

(3) Dominic Thiem def. Marin Cilic, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3

Marton Fucsovics def. (4) Daniil Medvedev, 6-4, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1

Alexander Bublik def. (8) Gael Monfils, 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3

Mikhail Kukushkin def. (14) Fabio Fognini, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 6-0

(15) Karen Khachanov def. Kamil Majchrzak, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3

(17) Pablo Carreno Busta def. John Millman, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5

Yoshihito Nishioka def. (19) Felix Auger-Aliassime, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3

Women's Top Results

(3) Elina Svitolina def. Varvara Gracheva, 7-6, 6-4

(5) Kiki Bertens def. Katarina Zavatska, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0

(6) Serena Williams def. Kristie Ahn, 7-6, 6-0

(7) Petra Kvitova def. Oceane Dodin, 6-3, 7-5

(11) Garbine Muguruza def. Tamara Zidansek, 7-5, 4-6, 8-6

Shuai Zhang def. (12) Madison Keys, 6-3, 7-6

Iga Swiatek def. (15) Marketa Vondrousova, 6-1, 6-2

Kaja Juvan def. (18) Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-3

Christina McHale def. (22) Karolina Muchova, 6-2, 6-4

(25) Amanda Anisimova def. Tamara Korpatsch, 6-2, 6-0

For the full results, check out the French Open's website. 

Recap

Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem handled their business. A number of other top players in the men's draw did not.  

Contenders like Daniil Medvedev, Gael Monfils and Fabio Fognini couldn't even make it out of the first round, each falling in four sets. That's a major disappointment for all three. 

Disappointment at Roland Garros is something that Nadal is not familiar with, however. The legend dismantled Egor Gerasimov with little issue on Monday, beginning his pursuit of a 13th French Open title. 

Nadal told reporters spoke the conditions at this year's event due to the COVID-10 pandemic gave the tournament a much different feel:

"It's a different Roland Garros. Of course we play in the same place. But the conditions are completely different than any other Roland Garros that we played. But the only thing I can do is just stay positive, do my job, try my best every single day. Even if the conditions are not the ideal ones, I will fight for my goals every single moment."

In the summer or in the fall, Nadal will be the favorite at Roland Garros. 

The men weren't alone in the upset department, with Madison Keys, Marketa Vondrousova, Angelique Kerber and Karolina Muchova all falling in the women's draw. 

The top players fared better, however, although not without some adversity. 

Elina Svitolina needed a tiebreaker in the first set before taking the second more comfortably against Varvara Gracheva. Kiki Bertens lost the first set before rolling Katarina Zavatska. And Serena Williams needed a first-set tiebreaker of her own to get past Kristie Ahn.

"I just need to play with more confidence," Williams said of the shaky start, per Howard Fendrich and Jerome Pugmire of the Associated Press, "like I'm Serena."

Ahn described the matchup in different terms.

"It feels like you're trying to push a runaway train in the opposite direction," she said of facing Williams. "It's very difficult to try and stop, to stop her momentum when she's going, when she's feeling it."