Venus comes through in French Open first round

Venus Williams didn't look comfortable at all in the first set of her French Open match against Paula Ormaechea. Ormaechea became the aggressor early on, though she had to serve for the first set twice before she could take it. After that 4-6 loss, though, Williams foud her game, cut down the errors and quickly won the second set 6-1. She skillfully won the third set 6-3, and said later, in her press conference, that coping with Sjogren's Syndrome is "definitely an adventure and journey...." Williams is unseeded at the Open, the first major she has played since getting her diagnosis.

Three former French Open champions easily won their first rounds. Francesca Schianvone, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic defeated Elena Baltacha, Mirjana Lucic and Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, respectively. The former champions dropped only ten games, with Stosur delivering a bagel in the second set of her match.

Sara Errani and Angelique Kerber both won their matches, and Melanie Oudin defeated Johanna Larsson in straight sets. French player Irena Pavlovic won her opener, but countrywoman Caroline Garcia lost hers. Both Frenchwomen were given wild cards into the main draw.

The French Open is my favorite of the four majors, which makes me a bit unusual (imagine that!), I know. I like to watch players slide on the red clay, I like the unpredictability, and--oh, yes--the tournament is in Paris.

Last year, I declared the French Open's phone/iPad app to be the best of the four. This year, it has been completed reconstructed, and it's useless. What were they thinking? Okay, I told myself, I'll just use the mobile site instead. Well, it's useless, too. The only way to get accurate live scoring is through the regular website, which is ridiculous.

Tomorrow, world number 1 Victoria Azarenka takes to the court, as do Agnieszka Radwanska and Marion Bartoli. Azarenka plays Alberta Briani, Radwwanska plays Bojana Jovanovski, and Bartoli takes on qualifier Karolina Pliskova.