American Venus Williams opened her French Open title bid on Monday with a straight sets first round win over Spaniard Marta Marrero.
Williams, seeded 11, who achieved her first title in a year in Istanbul at the weekend, overcame a shaky early serve to win through 6-3, 6-2 in 69 minutes against the 110th-ranked Spaniard.
Marrero, gunning to put her 6-0, 6-0 humiliation by Williams in the second round of the Istanbul Cup a week ago behind her, broke the American in the opening game, and again in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead.
But four-time Grand Slam winner Williams won the next four games to take the first set after 38 minutes, and never looked back in the second.
"Because of certain things I couldn't play in the other clay court tournaments and it was either Rome or Istanbul and I chose to go off the beaten track," said Williams of her decision to compete in Turkey last week.
"I needed to play and this is important for me. I'm just happy in the draw here.
"My goal is always to be in the final and hold the trophy I have big dreams for this tournament."
{{/usCountry}}"My goal is always to be in the final and hold the trophy I have big dreams for this tournament."
{{/usCountry}}The 24-year-old is yet to win the French Open title, with her best previous result in eight outings being runner-up in 2002 to younger sister Serena, who is not competing here this week because of injury.
Williams next meets Colombia's Fabiola Zuluaga who beat Libuse Prusova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-0.
The American has beaten Zuluaga in all of their five previous meeting, three of which were on clay including at last year's French Open.