Serena Williams crushed one of her French Open ghosts with an unstoppable demolition of Anna Tatishvili in the first round in Paris.
Roland Garros has been a troublesome venue for the world number one with several painful defeats, none more so than last year when she fell in the opening round of a grand slam for the first time in her career.
Williams’ conqueror was Virginie Razzano, an unheralded Frenchwoman ranked outside the top 100, and it was all the more surprising given the American had been in superb form on the European clay.
Williams took the defeat hard but regrouped, took on a new coach in Patrick Mouratoglou and has won 68 of her 71 matches since, bringing her 10 titles, including Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open.
The 31-year-old is the hot favourite to win her second French Open title 11 years after her first, and today’s display will do nothing to change that.
Back on Court Philippe Chatrier for the first time since losing to Razzano, Williams reeled off the first nine games against Georgia’s Tatishvili, allowing her opponent only seven points in the first set.
Tatishvili finally got on the board in the 10th game and battled manfully to at least make a fight of the second set but Williams was not in a charitable mood and clinched a 6-0 6-1 victory in 51 minutes.
Since the Razzano loss, Williams has won 68 of 71 matches, 10 tournaments including Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open, and now, 25 straight matches.
She said: “I was definitely nervous. I have to say I’m always a little nervous going into first-round matches at slams, but this time I wasn’t as nervous as I was previously or in other grand slams.
“But, for the most part, I felt pretty safe and felt good about my game, and that if I can just do what I do in practice, I’ll be okay.”
The American has not been a crowd favourite at Roland Garros but she found the way to their hearts, receiving a huge cheer when she began speaking French in her on-court interview.
Williams, who is coached by Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglou and spends a fair amount of time in Paris, said: “I have been speaking French for years and years, but I don’t really have a lot of confidence.
“I just had to jump in. Once I get there and I get warmed up, I know how to say things and what I can speak. It’s just getting that confidence to speak in French. It’s way, way, more nerve-wracking than playing tennis.”
Next up for Williams is 19-year-old Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, who had Maria Sharapova in serious trouble here two years ago in a performance that led Andy Murray to tweet his opinion she would be world number one in the future.
Garcia’s rise has not been as swift as may have been expected and she is still outside the top 100 at 113th.
Williams’ only title at Roland Garros came 11 years ago, and she knows it is a tally that should be higher.
The world number one said: “I just keep trying and it hasn’t been working out for me. I think I may have got nervous in the past or may have basically choked a few matches away.
“I’ve played some opponents that played well, but I have probably had opportunities and gave it away. I think some matches I just lost because maybe I wasn’t intense enough or maybe I didn’t do enough work before I got here to the tournament.”