Serena romps into second round of French Open

REUTERS: Top seed Serena Williams beat Anna Tatishvili 6-0, 6-1 on Sunday to emphatically book her place in the second round of the French Open and avoid last year’s embarrassment of an opening-round exit.

The American, whose only singles title at Roland Garros came in 2002, entered the tournament on a 24-match winning streak and showed no signs of taking her foot off the gas as she steamrollered the 83rd ranked Georgian in 51 minutes.

Williams, chasing a 16th grand slam title, looked ominously athletic as she wrapped up victory in an unseasonably chilly Paris, putting to bed the memory of her only first round loss at a grand slam, last year’s exit to France’s Virgine Razzano.

After her opponent sent a forehand wide on match point, she waved to all four sides of the stadium before embarking on the greater test of conducting the courtside interview in French. “I am very happy, this year I am playing very well, but you never know,” the 31-year-old said.