French Open 2015: Serena Williams feels in good shape after opener

Serena Williams declared herself satisfied with her performance after easing into the second round of the French Open with a 6-2 6-3 win over Andrea Hlavackova.

The world No1 was forced to withdraw from the Italian Open in Rome earlier this month due to an elbow issue but felt good during her opening victory in Paris, despite not yet being “100 per cent”.

“I felt good,” said Williams. “I was really happy to get through that and see how my elbow was going to do.

“Not 100 per cent, but I was able to serve OK, I didn’t serve as many aces as I normally do. The good thing is it gets better every day. Another day off tomorrow and hopefully if I can win another round it would be better.”

Elsewhere, Caroline Wozniacki sealed a 6-3 6-0 over Karin Knapp of Italy to book her place in the second round in Paris.

The Dane next faces Julia Goerges of Germany. “I had a lot of tough matches against her in the past,” said Wozniacki of facing Goerges.

“It’s never easy. I’m just going to be ready and competitive. It’s not going to be that much different from today. You know, big serve, big forehand. So, yeah, I’m excited for it.”

Meanwhile, Madrid champion Petra Kvitova sealed a 6-4 3-6 6-4 win over New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic to book her place in round two.

“It was very difficult today,” said Kvitova. “It was quite a long match, big fight. Sometimes I couldn’t win my serve. So it was a little bit difficult. But that’s how it is in the first round of Grand Slams. I’m just glad I’m still in and still playing.”