French Open: Elina Svitolina beats Venus Williams to reach second round

Ukrainian ninth seed Elina Svitolina overcame a tricky first-round draw by beating seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in straight sets at the French Open.

Both players struggled on serve before 24-year-old Svitolina finished both sets stronger to win 6-3 6-3.

American Williams, 38, has not gone past the third round of a Slam since reaching the 2017 US Open semi-finals.

Svitolina will play compatriot Kateryna Kozlova, the world number 67, next.

Svitolina missed two match points before sealing victory at the third opportunity when Williams sprayed a backhand into the tramlines.

Williams made 34 unforced errors and Svitolina eventually managed to grind her down.

Svitolina, a two-time Roland Garros quarter-finalist, has had her season disrupted by a knee injury but her movement appeared to be fine as she won in one hour and 13 minutes.

Svitolina wins on new 'garden' court

The first-round match between one of the game's greats and a seed rated an outside chance of winning the tournament was always going to go on one of Roland Garros' show courts.

So organisers opted to put the match on the new Court Simonne Mathieu, showcasing an arena which they say is the "only plant ecosystem of its kind in the world".

Named after France's second most successful female player, the court is semi-sunken and surrounded by four greenhouses which house tropical plants from South America, Africa, South East Asia and Australia.

The first match on the court was Garbine Muguruza's victory over American Taylor Townsend earlier in the day and the Spaniard was enthusiastic about her surroundings.

"It's in a very different place," said the former Wimbledon champion. "You don't feel like you are around a court. It's like in a garden. It's a different feeling.

"It's not small, but it's cosy."

• Read: Elina Svitolina's BBC column
• Live scores, schedule and results
• Alerts: Get tennis news sent to your phone