Rafael Nadal resisted any temptation to unleash his patented leaping uppercut or collapse to the court in glee. Instead, he simply walked to the net for a subdued handshake after breaking the Open-era record for consecutive victories on clay.
Nadal hopes to do more celebrating next week, following the French Open final.
Still, Monday's first-round victory over Robin Soderling of Sweden was something to savor. Nadal even received a trophy for his 54th consecutive win on clay, which broke the record he shared with Guillermo Vilas.
"It's important for me to be in the history," Nadal said. "Fifty-four victories, it's very, very difficult. It's a lot of tournaments, a lot of matches. It's not normal, because one day you can have bad luck, anything."
The 2005 champion is seeded second and expected to renew his budding rivalry with top-ranked Roger Federer in the final. But even though Nadal is 8-0 at Roland Garros and unbeaten on clay since April last year, he said winning the next five matches to reach the final won't be easy.
"It's more than two persons who can win here, a lot more," he said. "I don't think it's only Federer and me. I think there are about 15 players," he said.
Among those joining Nadal in the second round were two other former champions, Gaston Gaudio and Juan Carlos Ferrero. Also winning was No. 8-seeded James Blake, one of three players to beat Nadal this year.
Winners in the women's draw included five-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, playing only her 10th match of the year, and two-time runner-up Kim Clijsters. Both survived error-filled matches in windy weather.
Williams had seven double-faults and 33 unforced errors but beat Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-4, 6-3. It was the first Grand Slam victory this year for Williams, who lost in the opening round at the Australian Open and was then sidelined for 3{ months by injuries.
Even so, she considers herself among the title contenders.
"I don't think anyone wants to say, `Yeah, I definitely want to play Venus Williams,"' she said. "I don't think that at all."
Clijsters committed five double-faults and 32 unforced errors but overcame a 5-2 deficit in the second set and three set points to beat Virginie Razzano of France 6-0, 7-6 (4).
The only seeded man eliminated in the first two days of play was No. 16, Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, who retired with stomach cramps while trailing Raemon Sluiter of the Netherlands 6-2, 7-6 (6), 2-1.
That left plenty of potential hurdles for Nadal, but he'll be difficult to derail, as Soderling can attest. Nadal beat him 6-2, 7-5, 6-1, undeterred by gusty, damp, cool weather and the pressure to break the record.
"It's one of the most difficult matches I've played," Nadal said. "Obviously there was a moment where I had difficulties. I was a bit nervous. That's mainly because on clay the conditions were difficult."
Wind blew clouds of dirt into the stands, leaving the court looking barren in spots.
"It's not a clay court; it's a hard court today," Nadal said.
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