Tennis:Former champion Justine Henin made a rusty start on her return to Roland Garros this morning before finally easing through her first-round match 6-4 6-3 against Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova.
Henin, who last graced Court Philippe Chatrier three years ago when she won her fourth women's singles crown, struggled to match Pironkova's power in the early stages and her mesmeric backhand was far from firing on all cylinders.
A break in game eight of the opener gave her the impetus to take the first set in 47 minutes and though Pironkova kept the Henin serve under pressure throughout the second set the 22nd seed sealed victory after an hour and 29 minutes when her opponent sprayed a backhand return wide.
She will now face Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik or Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic for a place in the third round.