Venus Williams overcame a stuttering start to reach the second round of the French Open by beating fellow American Samantha Reeves 6-2 6-4 today.
Williams, who has failed to win a grand slam since her triumph at the 2001 U.S. Open, exchanged breaks with Reeves in the first four games of the match as both players struggled to find their footing as dusk fell over the Suzanne Lenglen court.
But the third seed, who was sporting a bandage on her left knee, finally found her range to reel off five straight games to clinch the opening set.
William's erratic play returned at the beginning of the second as she once again swapped breaks with the 108th ranked Reeves and had to stave off three break points before going 2-1 up.
Reeves kept pace with Williams throughout the set but her resolve finally crumbled when she served to stay in the match at 4-5 down and a sailed a forehand wide on her opponent's second match point.