PARIS — Even before Serena Williams quickly and easily seized control of her first-round match Tuesday, things were shaping up rather well for her at the French Open.

Williams' bid for her 22nd Grand Slam title, which would equal Steffi Graf's Open-era record, began with a nothing-to-see-here 6-2, 6-0 victory over 77th-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia in all of 42 minutes.

Not that she wished for more of a workout.

“It was a little short for me, but I think in my career, if I don't have it by now, I need to look into something different,” said the top-seeded Williams, who took the last 10 games.

What happened earlier on Day 3 was more surprising — and perhaps just as significant for the defending champ: Two of the top five seeded women exited the tournament.

No. 3 Angelique Kerber, who upset Williams in the Australian Open final in January, lost to 58th-ranked Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. And No. 5 Victoria Azarenka, one of the only other two women who defeated Williams this season, bowed out in the first round, too, stopping because of an injured right knee while trailing 4-0 in the third set against 118th-ranked Karen Knapp of Italy.

Williams could have faced Azarenka in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and Kerber in the semifinals.

The top-seeded man, Novak Djokovic, routed 95th-ranked Yen-hsun Lu, 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. And nine-time champ Rafael Nadal downed 100th-ranked Sam Groth, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1.

No. 2 Andy Murray was never that at peace during his match, suspended because of darkness Monday in the fourth set.

Murray lost the opening two sets against 37-year-old Radek Stepanek, the oldest man in the field, then twice was two points from losing while serving down 5-4 in the fifth Tuesday.

“Today was pretty stressful,” Murray said.

In the end, though, Murray eked out a 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 win. He's scheduled to play for a third consecutive day today.