Top seed Novak Djokovic launched his bid for a first French Open title with a routine victory while Serena Williams began the defence of her crown, but Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber crashed out on Tuesday. PARIS: Top seed Novak Djokovic launched his bid for a first French Open title with a routine victory while Serena Williams began the defence of her crown, but Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber crashed out on Tuesday (May 24). Djokovic, a three-time Roland Garros finalist, faced little resistance from Taiwan’s world number 95 Lu Yen-Hsun as he cruised to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 victory. The Serb, bidding to become just the eighth man to secure a career Grand Slam, needed only 90 minutes on Court Phillipe Chatrier to book a second-round encounter with Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis. “Well, second and third set were really good. I thought I found my rhythm. First set was up and down. But I’ll take the positives out of it, and I’m hoping I can progress as the tournament goes on,” said Djokovic. Serena Williams needed just 42 minutes to dispatch Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 6-2, 6-0 as the American aims for another title that would see her equal Steffi…