Serena Williams Starts Defence Of French Open Title With Straight-Sets Win

 

Serena Williams started the defence of her French Open title with a dominant 6-2 6-0 win over Magdalena Rybarikova in the first round. The world No 1, who is targeting her fourth trophy, needed only 42 minutes to complete a one-sided win over her Slovakian opponent at Roland Garros.

Williams was only briefly held at bay, with Rybarikova levelling the first set at 2-2, but the 34-year-old American then reeled off 10 games in a row. The top seed would need only one match point as Rybarikova's fate was sealed when she sent a cross-court backhand into the net. Williams, a winner of 21 Grand Slam singles titles, will next face either Brazilian Teliana Pereira or Czech Kristyna Pliskova in the second round.

Her pursuit of another crown in the French capital could have been aided by the departure of fifth seed Victoria Azarenka, who was forced to retire from her opening round tie with a knee injury.