Nadal, Sharapova survive scares; Serena makes winning return
PARIS: Rafael Nadal racked up his 80th French Open win, while Maria Sharapova battled back from a final set deficit to reach the second round as Serena Williams made a winning Roland Garros return on Tuesday.
Nadal, the 10-time champion, defeated Italian lucky loser Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (11/9).
World number one Nadal had been two sets up but 0-3 down in the third when rain caused the tie to be suspended late Monday.
He quickly levelled at 3-3 on Tuesday, saved 4 break points in the eighth game before saving 4 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.
“I really suffered today but it was a good test,” said Nadal who had been in danger of dropping his first set at Roland Garros since his 2015 quarter-final loss to Novak Djokovic.
“Simone is a very good player and he had lots of chances and was very agrressive.”
Two-time French Open champion Sharapova of Russia was pushed to three sets in her return to the Paris Grand Slam following a two-year absence.
Sharapova was given a tough challenge by Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp but eventually prevailed 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
It was Sharapova’s first win at the French Open since 2015 after she served a drug ban in 2016 and was not granted a wild card last year.
Sharapova led 6-1, 4-3 but lost the next six games as Hogenkamp led 3-0 in the decider. Sharapova managed to turn things around and Hogenkamp angrily tossed her racket at the red clay after Sharapova resisted pressure on her serve in the sixth game, saving two break points.
The Russian, who was Paris champion in 2012 and 2014, fired 35 winners in her victory on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Serena made a winning return to Grand Slam tennis which was as memorable as her body-hugging black catsuit.
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.
She will face Australia’s Ashleigh Barty in the next round.
Serena returned to Grand Slam tennis for the first time since the 2017 Australian Open where she won a 23rd major while also being two months pregnant.