French Open 2018: Thiem, Bautista Agut advance; Ferrer out

Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in an epic 5-setter

dominic-thiem-reuters Austria's Dominic Thiem celebrates winning his first-round match against Belarus's Ilya Ivashka | Reuters

Austria's Dominic Thiem started his quest for his first Grand Slam title with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 win over Ilya Ivashka of Belarus in the opening round of the French Open.

Both players struggled on serve as the 104-minute match saw a total of ten service breaks out of 20 opportunities, reports Efe.

Thiem did not face a single break point and made the most of the two break points he created to take a 1-0 lead.

In the second set, however, Ivashka broke his rival's serve twice, but conceded his own three times to fall two sets behind. The 24-year-old Thiem shrugged off the two break points he faced in the third set, dropping only one game and sealing the win.

In the second round, Thiem is set to square off against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, who defeated Carlos Taberner of Spain.

Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain fought hard on Monday to defeat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in the first round 6-2, 6-7 (3), 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.

After a marathon match lasting three and a half hours, the world no. 13 secured the win over to his unseeded rival, world no. 100, to advance to the second round, reports Efe.

In the next round, the Spanish player will face Colombia's Santiago Giraldo, who qualified for the second round after the withdrawal of Cyprus's Marcos Baghdatis.

Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 in an epic first-round match.

Making his first appearance at Roland Garros, Munar needed an agonising four hours and 15 minutes to knock out Ferrer, a former top 10 player, who reached the 2013 French Open final but lost to Spain's "King of Clay" Rafael Nadal.

Ferrer, currently world no. 41, was one set away from a routine win as he grabbed a 6-3, 6-3 lead, thanks to a lone break in the first set and three breaks in the second, where he conceded his serve once.

The 21-year-old Munar, who was trained at the Rafael Nadal academy, turned things around, drawing level via two tiebreaks, forcing a decider.

Munar then made the most of all three break points he created to clinch the match, despite conceding his serve twice.

For a place in the third round, Munar is set to take on Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who defeated Brazil's Rogerio Dutra Silva.