PARIS — For all that has changed in the 16 months since Serena Williams last played in a Grand Slam tournament — she is now married and a mother — so much was familiar about her at the French Open on Tuesday.
The fashion statement, this time in the form of a black bodysuit with a red waistband. The cries of "Come on!" The big serves that provided 13 aces. The return game that produced three consecutive breaks of serve.
And, yes, the victory. Competing as a mom for the first time at a major, and only about nine months since giving birth to her daughter, Williams beat 70th-ranked Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (4), 6-4 at Roland Garros.
"I'm just happy to win a match here," Williams told the crowd in Court Philippe Chatrier. "I'm just happy to take it a day at a time."
The 36-year-old American had not played in one of tennis's biggest tournaments since the Australian Open in January 2017, when she won her 23rd Grand Slam title. That broke a tie with Steffi Graf for the most in the Open era. The only player with more major singles championships was Margaret Court, with 24, but those were split between the amateur and professional eras.
Only later did Williams reveal that she was pregnant at the time. Her baby was born on Sept. 1, and Williams married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in November.
The very first game featured an ace at 112 mph and when it ended with Pliskova netting a backhand, the chair umpire intoned, "Jeu, Madame Williams," — French for "Game, Mrs. Williams," a change from the "Mademoiselle" officials use for unmarried female players.
Nadal wins
Ten-time champion Rafael Nadal fought off a strong challenge by Italian lucky loser Simone Bolelli in the first round Tuesday, yet still advanced in straight sets.
Nadal improved his Paris record to 80-2 with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9) rain-interrupted win completed over two days on Court Philippe Chatrier after saving four set points in the tiebreaker.
Nadal, once again the overwhelming favorite on his favorite surface after claiming clay titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, trailed 6-3 in the tiebreaker but fended off Bolelli's chances in impressive fashion: the top-ranked Spaniard hit an ace, a backhand volley and a crosscourt winner in succession.
Mixing well deep groundstrokes with subtle shots, Bolelli obtained another set point with a backhand drop shot when to lead 7-6, but Nadal hit a service winner on the next point.
"I went through tough moments, it's important for the future," Nadal said.
This match was one of the six encounters halted on Monday night because of rain. After some more raindrops interrupted play again on Tuesday morning, Nadal came back on court in full swing.
Nadal won the first three games on the day but the 129th-ranked Bolelli raised his level and managed a series of good returns. Nadal saved four break points in the eighth game of the final set, including one with a ferocious trademark cross-court forehand winner.
"It was a very difficult match, Simone played very aggressively, he had many chances in the third set," Nadal said.
Third-seeded Marin Cilic also started his Paris campaign with a straight-set win over James Duckworth while up-and-coming Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov got past John Millman 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.
Among others advancing were No. 6 seed Kevin Anderson and No. 9 John Isner.
In women's play, two-time Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza got back to winning ways in Paris by beating Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, another former Roland Garros champion. Muguruza, who claimed the title in Paris two years ago, advanced with a 7-6 (0), 6-2 win.