Serena Williams can be a perfectionist when it comes to her tennis game.

After winning 12 of the final 13 games to beat Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6-1 Sunday in the first round of the French Open, the eight-time Grand Slam champion was happy enough to just get the win.

"I feel like I ultimately could have played better. But first round, just want to get it over with and work your way in the tournament," William said.

Williams, the 2002 French Open champion, was broken in the first game of the match and trailed 2-0. She held in the third despite a double-fault while leading 40-0.

"I never felt like I was going to lose my serve there," Williams said, adding that Harkleroad was playing well to start. "I wasn't nervous, though,” she said.

On Monday, top-ranked Roger Federer was scheduled to begin his bid to complete a career Grand Slam by playing Sam Querrey of the United States in the first round, and No. 2 Rafael Nadal was to start his quest for a fourth straight French Open title against Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil.
    
On the women's side: Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic and Amelie Mauresmo are all scheduled to play.

The fifth-seeded Serena Williams, the only woman in the field who has won the clay-court major, had a 10-0 edge in aces and reeled off eight straight points while trailing 2-1 in the first set. In the sixth game, it started to drizzle.
     
"The ball got heavy and it was dark, and I had to basically put on my night vision. But for the most part it was tough conditions today," Williams said.

Other winners on the opening day of the clay-court major included Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, David Nalbandian, Andy Murray and James Blake.

But the men's tournament was more defined by someone who lost - three-time
champion Gustavo Kuerten.

Djokovic survived a rough start to his quest for a second straight Grand Slam title, holding off Denis Gremelmayr 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.

Nalbandian, a two-time French Open semi-finalist, advanced to the second round by beating Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.

Murray beat Jonathan Eysseric, who turns 18 on Tuesday and was the youngest player in the
men's field, 6-2, 1-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.

Two-time Grand Slam finalist Ana Ivanovic also advanced, beating Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 7-5.

The first seeded player to lose was No. 15 Nicole Vaidisova. She reached the French Open semi-finals in 2006 and the quarter-finals last year, but was upset by Iveta Benesova 7-6 (2), 6-1.

The second-ranked Ivanovic, who became the first player representing Serbia to play in a major final at last year's French Open, had six double-faults on centre court and was broken by her Swedish opponent when serving for the first set at 5-1.

"I let my intensity go down for a bit, and she used it and she started playing much better. But towards the end I'm happy that I found back my game and managed to break her back, and win the second set," Ivanovic said.

From : http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/