French Open 2018: Rafael Nadal fights to finish off Simone Bolelli; Serena's Grand Slam return rusty

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Paris, May 29: Rafael Nadal saw off four set points in a third-set tie-break as he demonstrated extreme patience to beat Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) in a rain-delayed French Open first-round tie.

The eventual scoreline made the victory look easier than it was as the reigning champion muscled his way through dogged resistance in a match that was halted by inclement weather on Monday.

Bolelli, who led the third 3-0 when his momentum was stalled, was broken in his first service game upon the resumption but continued to play with the freedom of a man afforded a lucky loser spot by Alexandr Dolgopolov's withdrawal.

The Italian had chances to take the match into a fourth - none more so than in the tie-break - but Nadal, who failed to drop a set throughout his charge to the 2017 crown, held firm, keeping the pressure on until Bolelli netted a routine forehand on match point.

The world number 129 had earlier spurned a look at a break-back in the sixth game and his hopes faded further when he failed to convert from 0-40 up in Nadal's next service game.

But he refused to afford the clay-court master a simple passage into round two, pushing the match into a tie-break that he should have claimed.

A superb drop volley provided Bolelli with three set points and, after Nadal retrieved each of them, the Italian was made to pay for a further failure to convert, wilting on the third match point to become the top seed's 80th victim at Roland Garros.

Nadal's bid for an 11th title in Paris next sees him meet Guido Pella, who beat Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

Serena made to work

Serena Williams commenced her bid for a fourth French Open title with a well-earned if not entirely convincing 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 win over Kristyna Pliskova on her much-anticipated Grand Slam return.

The unseeded 36-year-old looked rusty and short of full fitness in her first outing at a major since her triumph at the 2017 Australian Open, which came prior to a lengthy period out of the game due to the birth of her daughter in September.

Defeats to sister Venus at Indian Wells and Naomi Osaka at the Miami Open in March cast doubt over whether she could notch a 24th grand slam singles title in Paris.

But, while she did not completely dismiss those concerns on Court Philippe Chatrier, Williams did enough to comfortably advance to round two.

The crucial moment came in the first-set tie-break when, at 3-0 down, she rattled off six straight points before taking the advantage through a Pliskova miss.

Neither player had been broken until that point with world number 70 Pliskova refusing to be unnerved by her star opponent, firing down 10 aces in a tightly-contested opener.

But it was an entirely different story in the second as the pair traded breaks of serve, before Williams eventually consolidated in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead.

Nerves surprisingly arose as the American attempted to serve out the match, surviving three break points, until she was handed a path to the next round when Pliskova netted on the second match point.

Williams' next assignment is a meeting with Australian 17th seed Ashleigh Barty, who eased past Natalia Vikhlyantseva in straight sets.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

Nadal [1] bt Bolelli 6-4 6-3 7-6 (11-9)

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS Nadal – 30/25 Bolelli – 44/58

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS Nadal – 2/3 Bolelli – 2/1

BREAK POINTS WON Nadal – 4/10 Bolelli – 2/7

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE Nadal – 57 Bolelli – 76

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE Nadal – 74/58 Bolelli – 56/64

TOTAL POINTS Nadal – 119 Bolelli – 97

Source: OPTA