Williams, Djokovic, Murray survive hiccups at French Open

PARIS — For Serena Williams, it was a bad right elbow that led to some shaky serving and a dropped set.

For Novak Djokovic, first it was a balky right hip that needed treatment from a trainer; later came an embarrassing mistake.

For Andy Murray, it was a time warning from the chair umpire and losing a set for the first time in six matches against his opponent.

While nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal won in straight sets on a cloudy, windy Thursday, some red dirt got in the machine for three of the other biggest names at Roland Garros. That trio put those moments aside and reached the third round, where more significant challenges could await.

“I know I’m capable of playing great tennis,” the top-seeded Williams said. “Just haven’t seen it yet.”

Calling her performance “not professional,” Williams was sloppy as can be for stretches in a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory over 105thranked Anna-Lena Friedsam, a German who had never won a Grand Slam match until this week.

Williams committed 21 unforced errors in the first set alone, 52 in all.

“I was a little bit nervous [in the] first set,” Friedsam said, “and I think Serena was a bit nervous, too.”

The American was particularly subpar with her serve, which she said she hasn’t been able to work on properly in practice because of an elbow injury that led her to withdraw from a clay-court tournament in Rome this month.

“I’m not using it so much as a weapon,” Williams said about her serve. “So hopefully it will get better.”

She double-faulted eight times and allowed Friedsam to accumulate 15 break points.

“I know my level is literally 100 times better than I played today,” the 19-time major champion said, “so I think I take more solace in the fact I can play better, as opposed to the fact that that’s the best I could play.”