Serena Williams escapes a trap match with Irina Camelia Begu in the first round 7-6, 6-2

Las Vegas- Serena Williams had to dig deep to defeat Irina Camelia Begu in the first round of the French Open 7-6, 6-2.

With Naomi Osaka opting out of the French Open, it looked like Serena Williams was the favorite to win it all. Williams first challenge was to defeat Irina-Camelia Begu in the first round. With only a handful of spectators in attendance, because of the curfew in Paris, Williams started off a little slow, but picked it up in the first set.

At one point in the match, Williams was winning 52% on her first serves and making difficult for Begu to get into any type of rhythm. However, a couple of unforced errors by Williams, got Begu back into the set. Sitting at five apiece, Williams looked frustrated and dropped a critical game she needed in the set to keep Begu at bay. After digging deep, Williams won the last two games to force a tiebreak and eventually won the set 7-6.

After winning the first set, Williams' confidence started to soar. She started to be the aggressor with throwing out volleys and making Begu chase down her forehand shots.Williams went on to win the set 6-2.