Venus victorious after a shaky start

Paris: Just playing at this year's French Open was an accomplishment for Venus Williams, so winning was a bonus.

This is the first time that Williams is playing at a major tournament since last August, when she withdrew before her second-round match at the US Open. It was then she revealed that she had been diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, a condition that can cause fatigue and joint pain.

It didn't slow her down on Sunday. The seven-time Grand Slam champion recovered from a poor start and beat 19-year-old Paula Ormaechea of Argentina 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second round.

"I just learned how to live with this. It's different. I have a lot to learn still," Williams said. I learn a lot every week."

Talking of Ormaechea, Williams said: "She played super well the first set. She did a lot of the right things. Thankfully the next two sets were better for me."

Still, Williams had trouble on her serve in the final set, getting broken twice while winning four times on Ormaechea's serve.

"I wasn't able to get a foothold," Williams added. "She had some good returns. But I felt like I was returning well finally in the third."

Williams was one of six major champions that advanced on the opening day of the clay-court tournament. The only one that lost was Andy Roddick, the 2003 US Open winner.