First-round action concluded in the women’s draw at Roland Garros on Tuesday, during which most top seeds advanced with one notable exception.

Serena cruises

Top-seeded Serena Williams was all business as she finally played her first-round match. The two-time French Open champion cruised past Andrea Hlavackova, 6-2 6-3. Williams overpowered the Czech for most of the match, moving her around with big, powerful groundstrokes.

With the match well in hand, Williams maintained her intensity, even appearing somewhat agitated after allowing Hlavackova to take a couple late games in the second set. However, she easily advanced as it was a case of too much power by Williams, who will move on to face Anna-Lena Friedsam in the second round.

Williams was relieved that her elbow injury was not a factor. “I was really happy to get through that and see how my elbow was going to do,” she said. “It was not 100 per cent, but I was able to serve okay. I didn’t serve as many aces as I normally do. The good thing is it gets better every day.”

Bouchard continues to struggle

Despite a late rally, sixth-seeded Eugenie Bouchard fell to Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets in her first-round match. It was a tough draw for the Canadian, who has been struggling for much of the year after a breakout season in 2014. Playing in front of a home crowd, Mladenovic held off Bouchard, advancing to the second round, 6-4 6-4. Bouchard has now lost seven of her last eight matches, including Fed Cup results.

The Frenchwoman attacked the Bouchard serve, breaking five times in the match. With Bouchard only placing 57 percent of her first serves in play, Mladenovic took full advantage of her second serve, winning the majority of those points.

With the loss and a bulk of points falling off her ranking, Bouchard could drop out of the top 10. She had difficulty putting the loss into words afterwards. “I honestly don’t know what to say,” Bouchard admitted. “It’s been kind of the same as how I have been feeling recently on the court. Just not like myself.”

Kvitova shakes off cobwebs

It was not the effort that the fourth seed would have scripted, but Petra Kvitova survived to advance past Marina Erakovic, 6-4 3-6 6-4. The Czech was forced to overcome a scrappy opponent and herself to earn the victory.

After taking the first set, Kvitova struggled with errors and difficulties holding serve in the second, opening the door for Erakovic. The New Zealand resident took advantage of 19 unforced errors from the two-time major champion in the set to force a deciding third set.

In the third set, Kvitova had opportunities to seize control early but failed to hold serve on two occasions before finally breaking and closing it out on her serve late in the set. Clearly frustrated during the match, Kvitova outwardly attempted to motivate herself through a number of poor periods of play. The 25-year-old missed routine volleys and groundstrokes that she would typically execute with precision, but she managed to overcome 47 unforced errors on the day.

Perhaps it was a case of the nerves for the Czech, who appeared to be poised for success coming into Paris after her Madrid title.  Nevertheless, she summoned up enough big points to advance and avoid the upset. “I knew it would be difficult. I always struggle at the beginning of tournaments,” she stated post-match.

Wozniacki cruises

It took a few games before the fifth seed sized up her opponent, but Wozniacki found her rhythm and made fast work of Karen Knapp of Italy, 6-3 6-0. In her typical style, the Dane counterpunched successfully and consistently placed the ball throughout the court at will. She benefited from Knapp’s 50 unforced errors while giving away just nine herself, despite having to adjust to court conditions.

Wozniacki addressed the changing court conditions at Roland Garros after the match. “It can be very different depending on the days and the weather,” she said. “It can be fast and it can be extremely slow. Day by day, it can feel like it's a different tournament.” She will advance to face Julia Goerges in the second round.