Garbine Muguruza and Serena Williams progress at French Open
Serena Williams is through to the second round of the French Open after a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 win over Kristyna Pliskova.
The 23-time major winner came through a tough test to take the first set after being 0-3 down in the tie-break. There were five breaks in the second set and Serena got the crucial fifth break to make it 4-3 before holding serve to seal the victory.
Williams will play Australia’s Ashleigh Barty in the second round.
Earlier in the day, 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza came through against Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (7-0) 6-2.
The pair shared four breaks in the opener before the Spaniard strolled to victory in the tie-break.
Muguruza was far more dominant in the second set, breaking to make it 3-1 before repeating the feat in the final game.
She will play wildcard Fiona Ferro next.
Elsewhere in the ladies singles, Caroline Garcia eased past Ying-Ying Duan 6-1 6-0 and Angelique Kerber defeated Mona Barthel 6-2 6-3.
Cover Photo: Serena Williams by Yann Caradec used under license by CC BY-SA 2.0.