Roger Federer said he was just pleased to be off and running after he began his quest for a second French Open title with a straightforward victory over Colombian Alejandro Falla.

Federer was rarely troubled as he took less than two hours to rack up a 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory and move on to a second round clash with Marcel Granollers in round two.

The second seed is delighted to be back at Roland Garros and he was particularly pleased with his service game.

“I love coming here,” he said. “I wasn’t broken. I’m happy.”

With Friday’s draw pitting Federer on the opposite side of the draw to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the Swiss will have high hopes of reaching a first Paris decider since 2011.

He is 11.00 to win at Roland Garros for the second time in his career and take his tally of career grand slam wins to 18. For now however, Federer is just pleased to have made it through his opener without any hiccups.

“I think that as we go through the tournament, then we probably feel that we are more and more satisfied. But the first round is a bit like I want to win the first round, to be in the tournament and not to go back home immediately,” he said.

“You want to play a good match and then focus on the future. That’s when I will start enjoying this moment.”

World number one Novak Djokovic is 1.75 to win his first French Open title in Paris this year while Rafael Nadal, the king of the clay-court, is 4.50 to make it six straight wins and ten career successes at Roland Garros.