Top seed Roger Federer moved into the third round of the French Open on with a 6-3 7-6 6-2 win over Nicolas Almagro.
And fourth seed Rafael Nadal is also through after a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Belgian Xavier Malisse.
French Open champion Gaston Gaudio strolled into the third round without hitting a ball after his Russian opponent Dmitry Tursunov withdrew with a knee injury.
However, 7th seed Tim Henman failed to repeat his run to last year's semi-finals when he was bundled out at the hands of Peru's Luis Horna.
Top seed Lindsay Davenport beat Chinese teenager Peng Shuai 3-6 7-6 6-0 to reach the French Open third round this afternoon.
Venus Williams needed three sets to move past Colombian Fabiola Zuluaga and advance to the third round.
The former world number one, who was a runner-up here in 2002, struggled at times during the 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory.
The 24-year-old American, whose younger sister Serena pulled out of the tournament because of a sprained left ankle, overcame a second-set fightback and allowed Zuluaga to come back after building a 4-0 lead in the third set but finally won through.
"It was a very challenging match but I feel I'm playing good," she said. "I'm feeling comfortable in the long rallies."
Elena Dementieva, a losing finalist here last year and one of several Russian contenders, was also made to work before taking control over Croatian Sanda Mamic to win 7-6 6-2.
"I didn't play my best today but it was important to win a match like that," said Dementieva, seeded fourth.
"No matter how you feel or how difficult it is, you have to win the tough matches if you want to succeed."
Mary Pierce, the 2000 champion, then gave the home fans something to celebrate with a 6-1 6-0 demolition of Croatia's Jelena Kostanic.
