PARIS (AP) Sam Stosur opened her bid to return to the French Open final by beating Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-3 Sunday in the first round.
Playing in the first match on Court Philippe Chatrier, the eighth-seeded Stosur dropped her serve in the opening game but then reeled off four straight games to take the lead for good.
The Australian reached the final at Roland Garros last year but lost to lost to Francesca Schiavone. In 2009, Stosur reached the French Open semifinals.
Stosur next plays Simona Halep of Romania, who became the first player to reach the second round by beating Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 6-2, 6-1 on Court 17.