Top seed Iga Swiatek made a winning start to her French Open title defense

World number one Iga Swiatek began her French Open title defense on Tuesday. She defeated Spain's Cristina Bucsa 6-4 6-0 to reach the second round.

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Chasing a third French Open title in four years, the Polish tennis player got off to a slow start on a windy afternoon on Philippe-Chatrier Court. She beat the Spaniard in under an hour at this year's Australian Open, losing just one game. But Swiatek had a less-than-perfect run-up to Paris. She has missed his Italian Open quarters two weeks earlier after suffering a thigh injury.

The 21-year-old triple Grand Slam winner was broken twice in her first three service games. Determined Bucsa, ranked 70th in the world, initially managed to throw her opponent off balance. The top seed heeded the early wake-up call and sprinted back towards the business end of the set, breaking back to seal it. Pole, who began her 61st week at the top of the WTA rankings and a favorite in Paris, snatched another break with a crosscourt forehand winner early in the second set and never looked back.

"I just felt more tense, for sure. But I managed to turn that around and not think about all the stuff that is usually bothering when you play your first match. You hear a bit more, you have to get used to the stuff surrounding you. I just felt like I needed to gain some information to play more solid. I did that." Swiatek said.

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She made amends for her first-set wobble with a bagel as she looks to add to her 2020 and 2022 French Open titles and defend her top spot against world number two Aryna Sabalenka.

"Of course I feel pressure, we all feel pressure. If I said I don't, I would be lying. I try to work with it and play my game. The most important thing in tennis right now is to cope with it." Swiatek added, who turns 22 on Wednesday.