PARIS, May 30, 2018 (News Wires) - World No 1 and top seed Simona Halep recovered from a disastrous first set to reach the French Open second round on Wednesday with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Alison Riske of the United States. Halep, the runner-up in Paris in 2014 and 2017, slumped 0-5 down in the opening set to world No 83 Riske whose only win at the tournament came in 2014. The Romanian committed 16 unforced errors in the set but stepped up a gear from that point on to book a second-round match against Taylor Townsend of the United States. "It's always difficult in the first round of a Grand Slam, you are always nervous," said Halep whose opening round match had been cancelled on Tuesday due to torrential rain. "But I started to run more, played better and kept more balls in play." Halep needs to reach the semifinals or better if she is to retain the world top spot. Elina Svitolina saw off Roland Garros debutante Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia 6-3 6-4 to reach the third round. The Ukrainian fourth seed, coming off a successful defence of her title in Rome, played solid tennis throughout to set up a meeting with Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu. Kuzmova, having beaten 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone in the first round, was no pushover in the opening set but there was little she could do when the Ukrainian stepped up a gear. After an early trade of breaks in the second set, Svitolina, twice a quarterfinalist in Paris, broke her opponent's serve again for 4-3 and held to close it out without a scare. Serena Williams made a winning return to Grand Slam tennis which was as memorable as her body-hugging black catsuit when she reached the Roland Garros second round on Tuesday. The 36-year-old downed Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 to register her first victory at the majors since her 2017 Australian Open triumph. "I missed Roland Garros so much, I missed the battle," Williams, the 2002, 2013 and 2015 champion, said after playing her first clay court match since finishing runner-up to Garbine Muguruza in the 2016 final on the same Philippe Chatrier Court. "It's been two years since I played here. It wasn't easy but I have been training really hard. I feel good and just so happy to be back here." As Williams – and her eye-catching outfit – grabbed the headlines, there were wins but a few scares for 10-time champion Rafael Nadal and two-time winner Maria Sharapova. Nadal racked up his 80th win in Paris by seeing off Italian lucky loser Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (11/9). Sharapova, playing the tournament for the first time in three years after missing 2016 through a doping ban and last year when she was refused a wildcard, battled from a 0-3 deficit in the final set to beat Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Williams, the winner of an Open era record 23 Grand Slam titles, had arrived at Roland Garros with just four matches under her belt in 2018, the last of which was in Miami in March. Having been off the tour to give birth to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian in September, many in the sport wondered if she would still be a contender at the majors especially with her ranking at 451. However, she gave a stinging response to the doubters on Tuesday even if her win over the 70th-ranked Pliskova tested the American. World No 1 Nadal had been two sets up but 0-3 down in the third to Bolelli when rain caused the tie to be suspended late Monday. He quickly levelled at 3-3 on Tuesday, saved four break points in the eighth game before saving four set points in the breaker. The top seed eventually claimed victory on a third match point when Bolelli dumped a forehand into the net. Nadal, bidding for an 11th title in Paris and his 17th major, next faces Argentina's Guido Pella for a place in the last 32.
