Serena Williams charges into second round

The world number one is chasing a remarkable 20th Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, a triumph that would leave her just four short of Margaret Court and two off Steffi Graf in the all-time rankings.

It was a match of contrasting emotions for Williams, who nearly keeled over laughing after misjudging an early volley before letting her frustration show at times in the second set.

"I felt good, defended my points, so I'm excited about that," she joked afterwards. "That's always exciting."

The American broke her opponent en route to building an early 3-0 lead, and although a couple of unforced errors allowed Hlavackova back into the set, Williams regained the initiative and raced to take it 6-2.

Hlavackova, perhaps realising the near-impossible task in front of her, started hitting huge groundstrokes that posed Williams a few problems – each winner greeted with euphoria from a Philippe Chatrier crowd hoping to see the match stretch into the evening.

But a solitary break in the second set was enough for Williams to book her spot in the second round.

She could potentially face Maria Sharapova, 6-2 6-4 winner over Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi in her first round clash on Monday, in the final.