Serena Williams began her quest for a 24th Grand Slam singles title with a hard-fought win over Kristie Ahn in the French Open first round.
Sixth seed Williams, who turned 39 on Saturday, overcame a rusty start to beat her fellow American 7-6 (7-3) 6-0.
Once she came through a 74-minute opener, Williams began to play with more belief and clarity as she swept Ahn aside in a 27-minute second set.
Williams will play Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round in Paris.
Pironkova, 33, was handed a wildcard by Roland Garros organizers after a memorable run to the US Open quarter-finals – where she lost to Williams – in her first tournament since 2017 after giving birth.
Pironkova set up the rematch with a 6-3 6-3 win over Germany’s Andrea Petkovic.
French Open Day 2 Results: Nadal, Thiem cruise to 2nd round
Spain’s 12-time champion Rafael Nadal encountered few problems as he started the French Open with a three-set win over Belarusian Egor Gerasimov.
Nadal, 34, wrapped up a 6-4 6-4 6-2 victory in two hours five minutes against the world number 83, who was making his main-draw debut in Paris.
US Open champion Dominic Thiem also moved into the second round with a 6-4 6-3 6-3 win over Croatia’s Marin Cilic.
French Open Day 2 Results: 4th seeded Medvedev & Kreber ousted in the first round
Daniil Medvedev is now 0-4 for his career at the French Open. The runner-up at the U.S. Open last year and a semifinalist in New York this month failed yet again to win a match at Roland Garros.
The fourth-seeded Russian lost to 63rd-ranked Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-1.
Medvedev was in a bad mood throughout, getting warned for an expletive, then being docked a point for smashing his racket in the second-set tiebreaker.
That point came at 6-3 in the tiebreaker, so he lost that set. Fucsovics had been 0-14 against Top 10 opponents.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber lost in the first round of the French Open for the second straight year. The 18th-seeded German was beaten by 19-year-old Slovenian Kaja Juvan 6-3, 6-3.
Where the fans catch the FRENCH OPEN LIVE BROADCAST & LIVE STREAMING?
In the Indian Sub-Continent, French Open will be broadcasted LIVE on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports Select 2.
The tournament will also be streamed LIVE on Disney+ Hotstar.
