Serena Williams had to come from a set down to beat Anna-Lena Friedsam 5-7 6-3 6-3 in the second round at Roland Garros.
The American hit a flurry of unforced errors in the first set and faced two break points in the first game of the second before she regained her composure.
Williams, whose 19 grand slam titles include the French Open crowns in 2002 and 2013, has already experienced spectacular failures here, having been knocked out in the first round in 2012 and in the second round last year.
But when she broke Friedsam’s serve at the start of the third set the chance of a repeat began to fade away as the German’s belief finally withered.
Williams broke serve again to claim victory and will now face 27th seed Victoria Azarenka who battled past Czech Lucie Hradescka 6-2 6-3.
