Serena Williams advanced to the second round of the French Open by beating Kristie Ahn 7-6 (2), 6-0 on Monday at Roland Garros.
The sixth-seeded Williams served for the match at 40-0, but Ahn saved three match points. An ace gave her a fourth opportunity to win, but she hit a shot into the net.
Williams then saved a break point before finally beating her American opponent with an ace.
Ahn held leads of 3-1 and 4-2 in the first set.
The 39-year-old Williams is a three-time French Open champion and is looking to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 major titles. She will next face Bulgarian wild-card entry Tsvetana Pironkova.
Marketa Vondrousova, last year’s runner-up, lost in the first round Monday. The 15th-seeded Czech player was beaten by Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-2.
Vondrousova was the third-lowest ranked player to reach the final last year when she did so at No. 38. Swiatek reached the fourth round at Roland Garros last year. The 19-year-old Polish player will next face Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan.
Also Monday, fifth-seeded Kiki Bertens beat Katarina Zavatska 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, and No. 7 Petra Kvitova defeated Oceane Dodin 6-3, 7-5.