Top seed Serena Williams was given a stern examination by Swiss youngster Stefanie Voegele in the first round of the French Open.
World number one survives tough first-round match in Paris
Top seed Serena Williams was given a stern examination by Swiss youngster Stefanie Voegele in the first round of the French Open.
Williams, whose solitary title at Roland Garros came eight years ago, came through 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 but was made to work hard for the win.
The first set, in particular, was a lively affair with Voegele making much of the running - but it was Williams who stepped up in the tie-break.
And the second set began in the similar fashion before the American, a 12-time Grand Slam winner, forged ahead with successive breaks before serving out the victory.
"I definitely didn't feel good about it. At least I won. I think I'm still in the tournament, that's what matters," Williams said.
Williams, the reigning champion at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, will face Germany's Julia Goerges in the second round.
"A different day, a better game; a different day, a different game. That's how I think about it," she added.
Wozniacki in good shape
Earlier on Monday, third seed Caroline Wozniacki required 69 minutes to breeze into the second round.
In soaring temperatures, Wozniacki prevailed 6-0 6-3 over Alla Kudryavtseva to dispel any worries about a nagging ankle injury that has troubled her in recent tournaments.
The Dane, at 19 the only teenager in the top 25 of the women's rankings, claimed the first set in 25 minutes without dropping a game.
Although unseeded Russian Kudryavtseva was more competitive in the second set, Wozniacki closed out the win soon enough to book a second-round date with Italy's Tathiana Garbin, the world number 56.
In what became one of the day's final matches, fourth seed and two-time semi-finalist Jelena Jankovic cruised to a 6-0 6-4 first-round win over Alicia Molik.
Jankovic said: "I'm happy not to play in the sun but on the other hand I was waiting almost the whole day to play my match.
"I came here at around one o'clock and and I went on the court almost at eight o'clock.
"I'm just happy that I was able to win."
Seventh seed Samantha Stosur had a difficult first set against Simona Halep but the Australian accelerated to win 7-5 6-1.
Meanwhile, on a day lacking in upsets, the closest seeds to being knocked out were Italian 17th seed Francesca Schiavone and 27th seed Alona Bondarenko.
Both lost the first set against Regina Kulikova and Vera Dushevina before recovering to win 5-7 6-3 6-4 and 6-7 (3/7) 6-3 6-4 respectively.
Dementieva cruises
Fifth seed Elena Dementieva was another to waste little time in the heat, dispatching Croatia's Petra Martic 6-1 6-1 in her opener.
Dementieva, the runner up at this event in 2004, will play Anabel Medina Garrigues from Spain in the second round.
China's Li Na, seeded 11, also progressed 7-5 6-3 against Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic, while fellow seeds Lucia Safarova (24) and Kateryna Bondarenko (32) claimed straight-sets wins over Jelena Dokic and Julie Coin respectively.
