World number one Rafael Nadal started his bid for a fifth consecutive French Open title by labouring past Brazilian qualifier Marcos Daniel 7-5 6-4 6-3 on Monday.

The Spaniard, who is unbeaten at Roland Garros since his debut in 2005, needed two hours and 23 minutes to get past Daniel and set up a second round meeting with either Teimuraz Gabashvili or Igor Kunitsyn of Russia.

Instead of quizzing Nadal about the problems he faced in the first two sets, the question on the everyone's lips was why the the Spaniard chose to wear a pink shirt on Centre Court for his 29th consecutive win at Roland Garros.

"I don't know. Why was I in white and yellow two weeks ago? It's better than (to) dress (in) the same colour every week, no?" he asked reporters.

Russian Maria Sharapova shrilled her way into the second round of the French Open with a 3-6 6-1 6-2 victory over Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus Monday.

The former world number one, who dropped to 102nd in the WTA rankings being out of action for nine months because of a shoulder injury, needed a set to find her range on Court One before cracking winners past the world number 64.

Sharapova, who returned to singles play last week at the Warsaw Open where she reached the last eight, will next face 11th-seeded compatriot Nadia Petrova.

Roger Federer erased miserable memories by gliding into the second round of the French Open with a clinical 6-4 6-3 6-2 victory over Spaniard Alberto Martin on Monday.

The last time Federer had stepped on Philippe Chatrier Court, he was on the receiving end of a 6-1 6-3 6-0 mauling by his nemesis Rafael Nadal in the final 12 months ago.

"I didn't even think about last year's match on the same court because I was so much concentrated," said the Swiss world number two, who is seeking to win the Roland Garros title to complete his collection of grand slam titles.

"I wanted to do my best. I didn't want to lose my first match."

Federer said his claycourt form this season, during which he has reached the semi-finals in Rome and beat Nadal to win his first title of the year in Madrid, has given him the belief that he can win in Paris.

World number one Dinara Safina opened her quest for a maiden grand slam title with a 6-0 6-0 demolition of Britain's Anne Keothavong at the French Open on Monday.

The Russian, who lost to Serb Ana Ivanovic in the final last year, will take on compatriot Vitalia Diatchenko for a place in the third round.

The 23-year-old Safina played with the urgency of a woman late for a lunch appointment as she ruthlessly dismantled Keothavong in 61 minutes on Centre Court.

Safina shrugged off a couple of break points in the third game of the opening set with two stunning crosscourt backhand winners and never looked back.

Andy Roddick overcame a psychological block on Monday when he clambered into the French Open second round with a 6-2 6-4 6-2 win over French wildcard Romain Jouan.

The American sixth seed had not made it past the first round since 2005 and with only one win on red dirt this season, few would have been surprised if Roddick had already booked his flight out of Paris.

But he made sure he would have a chance prolonging his stay at Roland Garros, where he has reached the third round only once, by eclipsing the 305th-ranked Jouan.

Roddick will next face Spain's Oscar Hernandez or Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic.