PARIS -- For all that has changed in the 16 months since Serena Williams last played in a Grand Slam tournament -- she is now married and a mother -- so much was familiar about her at the French Open on Tuesday.
The fashion statement, this time in the form of a black bodysuit with a red belt that she said made her feel like a "warrior princess." The cries of "Come on!" The big serves that provided 13 aces. The returns that eventually produced three consecutive breaks of serve.
And, yes, the victory. Competing as a mom for the first time at a major -- and only about nine months since giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia, then dealing with postpartum complications -- Williams edged 70th-ranked Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (4), 6-4 at Roland Garros.
"Well, my priority is Olympia. No matter what, that's my priority. I have given tennis so much, and tennis has actually given me a lot, and I couldn't be more grateful," Williams said. "She's my priority, and I work everything around her."
The 36-year-old American had not played in one of tennis's biggest tournaments since winning the Australian Open in January 2017 for her 23rd Grand Slam title, breaking a tie with Steffi Graf for the most in the professional era.
Williams, the world found out later, was pregnant at the time. Her baby was born Sept. 1; Williams married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in November.
Williams eventually revealed that she had an emergency cesarean section, then encountered trouble breathing afterward because of a pulmonary embolism and needed a follow-up operation.
"Just literally not sure if I was going to make it or not at several different times," Williams said. "A lot of people have really reached out, because they have so many similar stories, too."
The first match of her comeback was in doubles alongside her older sister, Venus, for the U.S. Fed Cup team in February. She entered two tournaments in singles the next month, going 2-2. An absence of more than two months followed, until Tuesday in Paris.
So a woman who has spent hundreds of weeks ranked No. 1 is currently No. 451 and unseeded at the French Open. Williams faces 17th-seeded Ash Barty of Australia next.
"She's a genuine champion," Barty said. "What she's done to be able to get back ... is a pretty amazing thing."
Williams' return was by far the most significant event of Day 3 at Roland Garros, even though there were so many other Grand Slam champions in action. Rafael Nadal finished off a rain-interrupted victory as he begins his try for a record-extending 11th French Open title. Maria Sharapova, a two-time champ in Paris, was pushed to three sets in a win. Garbine Muguruza, who beat Williams in the 2016 final at Roland Garros, beat another past champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova.
All eyes were on Williams, though. On the fifth point, she delivered an ace at 112 mph. Pliskova, a lefty whose twin sister upset Williams in the 2016 U.S. Open semifinals, actually hit more aces, 15. That's the most anyone has hit against Williams since at least 2008, according to the WTA.
Williams appeared to have trouble reading Pliskova's serves early on. There were other blips, of the sort to be expected from someone who hasn't played lately. Williams double-faulted seven times. She had nearly as many unforced errors, 25, as winners, 29.
After trailing 3-0 in the tiebreaker, she reeled off six points in a row. After falling behind 2-0 in the second set, Williams came up with a trio of service breaks.
All was not perfect. In the final game, Williams' right foot gave way as she sprinted toward the net and she landed on her backside. At least she was able to laugh at that as she went to the sideline to towel off.
On Tuesday, she noted that she showed up at her news conference more promptly than she used to, so she could have more time to spend with Olympia.
"I don't want her to ever feel like I'm not around. I'm a super hands-on mom," Williams said. "Maybe too much."
A reporter wanted to know whether Williams believes she can win the title again.
"I'm definitely here to compete and do the best that I can do, obviously. I'm not putting any pressure on myself as I normally do," Williams began.
Then, perhaps questioning her own words as she heard them, she paused, before adding with a laugh: "I think deep down, we all know the answer to that."
French Open glance
PARIS — A look at the French Open:
TODAY No. 1 seed Simona Halep starts her campaign against 83rd-ranked Alison Riske of the United States, in a weather-delayed first-round match postponed from Tuesday. Their game will be the first of five matches scheduled on the Philippe-Chatrier show-court. Second-round play starts in the men’s and women’s draws. Novak Djokovic, the 2016 champion seeded 20th this year, plays qualifier Jaume Munar of Spain. Among the women, No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark meets Spanish qualifier Georgina Garcia Perez.
TODAY’S FORECAST Cloudy morning followed by rain and storms. High of 77.
TUESDAY’S SEEDED WINNERS Men: No. 3 Marin Cilic, No. 5 Juan Martin Del Potro, No. 6 Kevin Anderson, No. 16 Kyle Edmund, No. 18 Fabio Fognini, No. 24 Denis Shapovalov. Women: No. 3 Garbine Muguruza, No. 7 Caroline Garcia, No. 11 Julia Goerges, No. 12 Angelique Kerber, No. 17 Ashleigh Barty, No. 18 Kiki Bertens, No. 24 Daria Gavrilova, No. 27 Shuai Zhang, No. 28 Maria Sharapova, No. 30 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
TUESDAY’S SEEDED LOSERS Men: No. 14 Jack Sock, No. 25 Adrian Mannarino, No. 28 Feliciano Lopez. Women: none.
STAT OF THE DAY 13 — the number of aces served by Serena Williams in her victorious return to Grand Slam tennis, following her marriage and the birth of her daughter.
Tuesday’s French Open results
At Roland Garros Stadium, Paris
Men's Singles
First round
Denis Shapovalov (24), Canada, def. John Millman, Australia, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.
Maximilian Marterer, Germany, def. Ryan Harrison, United States, 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.
Ruben Bemelmans, Belgium, def. Yuki Bhambri, India, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1.
Jurgen Zopp, Estonia, def. Jack Sock (14), United States, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Sergiy Stakhovsky, Ukraine, def. Feliciano Lopez (28), Spain, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
Mischa Zverev, Germany, def. Florian Mayer, Germany, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (3).
Pablo Cuevas, Uruguay, def. Aljaz Bedene, Slovenia, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
Kevin Anderson (6), South Africa, def. Paolo Lorenzi, Italy, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Marin Cilic (3), Croatia, def. James Duckworth, Australia, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (4).
Hubert Hurkacz, Poland, def. Tennys Sandgren, United States, 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Jan-Lennard Struff, Germany, def. Evgeny Donskoy, Russia, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.
Steve Johnson, United States, def. Adrian Mannarino (25), France, 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-2.
Fabio Fognini (18), Italy, def. Pablo Andujar, Spain, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
Elias Ymer, Sweden, def. Dudi Sela, Israel, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-1.
Marton Fucsovics, Hungary, def. Vasek Pospisil, Canada, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
Kyle Edmund (16), Britain, def. Alex De Minaur, Australia, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.
Juan Martin Del Potro (5), Argentina, def. Nicolas Mahut, France, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Women's Singles
First round
Taylor Townsend, United States, def. Myrtille Georges, France, 6-4, 6-2.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands, United States, def. Johanna Larsson, Sweden, 6-4, 6-3.
Daria Gavrilova (24), Australia, def. Sorana Cirstea, Romania, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Angelique Kerber (12), Germany, def. Mona Barthel, Germany, 6-2, 6-3.
Ana Bogdan, Romania, def. Marketa Vondrousova, Czech Republic, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Belarus, def. Denisa Allertova, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-3.
Kiki Bertens (18), Netherlands, def. Aryna Sabalenka, Belarus, 6-2, 6-1.
Shuai Zhang (27), China, def. Kristina Kucova, Slovakia, 6-0, 7-5.
Irina Begu, Romania, def. Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova, Slovakia, 6-4, 5-7, 9-7.
Shuai Peng, China, def. Aleksandra Krunic, Serbia, 6-3, 6-4.
Caroline Garcia (7), France, def. Ying-Ying Duan, China, 6-1, 6-0.
Garbine Muguruza (3), Spain, def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 7-6 (0), 6-2.
Fiona Ferro, France, def. Carina Witthoeft, Germany, 6-4, 6-2.
Samantha Stosur, Australia, def. Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium, 6-2, 6-4.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (30), Russia, def. Polona Hercog, Slovenia, 6-4, 7-6 (1).
Julia Goerges (11), Germany, def. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia, 6-4, 5-7, 6-0.
Alison Van Uytvanck, Belgium, def. Isabelle Wallace, Australia, 6-1, 6-0.
Serena Williams, United States, def. Kristyna Pliskova, Czech Republic, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Ashleigh Barty (17), Australia, def. Natalia Vikhlyantseva, Russia, 6-3, 6-1.
Maria Sharapova (28), Russia, def. Richel Hogenkamp, Netherlands, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Men's Doubles
First round
Edouard Roger-Vasselin, France and Rohan Bopanna (13), India, def. Frances Tiafoe, United States and Taylor Fritz, United States, 6-3, 6-1.
Michael Venus, New Zealand and Raven Klaasen (10), South Africa, def. Alexandre Muller, France and Corentin Denolly, France, 6-3, 6-3.
Jonathan Eysseric, France and Hugo Nys, France, def. Fernando Verdasco, Spain and David Marrero Santana, Spain, 6-3, 7-5.
Alexander Peya, Austria and Nikola Mektic (8), Croatia, def. Franko Skugor, Croatia and Dominic Inglot, Britain, 6-4, 6-3.
Julio Peralta, Chile and Horacio Zeballos (15), Argentina, def. Hugo Gaston, France and Clement Tabur, France, 6-2, 6-2.
Robin Haase, Netherlands and Matwe Middelkoop, Netherlands, def. Yuichi Sugita, Japan and Yoshihito Nishioka, Japan, 6-1, 6-2.
Ken Skupski, Britain and Neal Skupski, Britain, def. Mike Bryan, United States and Sam Querrey (16), United States, 7-5, 6-4.
Mirza Basic, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Damir Dzumhur, Bosnia-Herzegovina, def. Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Spain and Jiri Vesely, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-3.
Henri Kontinen, Finland and John Peers (3), Australia, def. Ilya Ivashka, Belarus and Karen Khachanov, Russia, 6-3, 6-2.
Robert Farah, Colombia and Juan Sebastian Cabal (5), Colombia, def. Max Mirnyi, Belarus and Philipp Oswald, Austria, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4).
Artem Sitak, New Zealand and Wesley Koolhof, Netherlands, def. Antonio Sancic, Croatia and Andre Begemann, Germany, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4.
Sports on 05/30/2018