Venus Williams wins opening match at French Open by beating Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-3

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VWilliams beats Schnyder at French Open

PARIS — Venus Williams took the French Open stage dressed for a Paris production she hopes will run a full two weeks.

Wearing a lacy black “Can-Can” corset with spaghetti straps and red trim, Williams choreographed a 6-3, 6-3 victory over longtime foil Patty Schnyder in the opening round Sunday.

The outfit will be tough to top in the fashion department, and Williams may be difficult to defeat on the scoreboard.

“I always — goes without saying — believe I can win,” she said.

Her 27-4 record this year is the best on the women’s tour. Last week Williams climbed for the first time since 2003 to second in the rankings, trailing only younger sister Serena.

“It feels good to be moving up the ranks,” Venus said.

Defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova joined Williams in the second round, while 2009 quarterfinalist Victoria Azarenka was eliminated. Winners on the men’s side included Robin Soderling, hoping to mount another run at Roland Garros after upsetting four-time champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round last year.

There were whistles and catcalls from the crowd when Williams removed her warmups to reveal the corset she designed. It’s similar to an outfit she debuted at Key Biscayne in March.

“The outfit is all about illusion,” she said. “That has been a lot of my motif there year, illusion, and it’s about kind of having that illusion of wearing lace and not having anything take away under it. These days I have a lot of fun with my designs.”

A corset-clad Williams reached the final at Key Biscayne, and she’s off to a good start at Roland Garros. Victory was no surprise coming against Schnyder, who fell to 0-11 versus the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

“The record definitely helped me,” Williams said, “especially in tighter situations. I’d like to have that kind of record against everyone.”

Williams’ movement on Court Suzanne Lenglen boded well for matches to come. She attacked aggressively and scrambled after shots, often extending rallies until Schnyder would blow an easy shot.

Another encouraging sign for Williams fans: She played with neither of her often-troublesome knees wrapped.

Tricky footing has always made clay Williams’ worst surface. In 13 previous French Open appearances, she reached the semifinals only once — in 2002, when she lost to her sister in the final. She advanced beyond the third round only once in the past five years.

But as part of a career resurgence at age 29, Williams is 13-2 on clay this year.

“I’ve just been playing a little bit more consistent,” she said. “You’ve just got to win the point and execute. I’ve been doing that, I think, pretty good.”

Against Schnyder, Williams slammed 27 winners and won 12 of 14 points at the net. She also overcame an inconsistent serve.

In the arduous final game she fell behind 15-40, then hit her only two aces. On her first match point, she double-faulted for the eighth time. She finally converted her fourth match point with a forehand winner and raised a triumphant fist.

The tournament began in warm, sunny conditions that had spectators fanning themselves and forming long lines at ice cream stands.

“Roasting,” tweeted top British hope Andy Murray, who had a practice session for his opening match Monday. “No sunblock today wud be an error.”

Kuznetsova was sweating at the start. She lost the first six points and first three games, then swept nine games in a row and beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-1.

Seeded sixth, Kuznetsova arrived at Roland Garros only 1-3 on clay this year, and she drew a dangerous opening opponent in Cirstea, a quarterfinalist a year ago. The match began shortly after 11 a.m., and even in a nearly empty stadium, Kuznetsova found herself a bit rattled.

“Definitely I was a little bit nervous,” she said. “It was rough start for me.”

The Russian needed 12 minutes to win a game, but she was in control after that. Three times she rallied to take a game after losing the first three points.

“She was down, so she had to change a little bit,” Cirstea said. “She went more for her shots, and they went in.”

Soderling enjoyed a faster start, winning the first nine games. He dropped only nine of 58 points on his serve and defeated wild card Laurent Recouderc 6-0, 6-2, 6-3.

“It’s always nice to have a quick match in the early rounds,” Soderling said. “I got to hit a few balls. We had a few rallies. So it was a good match.”

Soderling’s win over Nadal at Roland Garros still seems shocking a year later. Soderling went on to the final — his best showing in a major event — where he lost to Roger Federer, who completed a career Grand Slam.

“That was all last year,” Soderling said. “I have to start over again. But of course it’s always nice to come back to a place where you did well last year. It gives you good feelings.”

Nadal, now 31-1 lifetime at Roland Garros, is again the tournament favorite and wouldn’t meet the No. 5-seeded Soderling until the final.

No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France won the longest match of the day, beating Daniel Brands 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 7-5. No. 23 Ernests Gulbis trailed retired trailing in the third set of his match against Julien Benneteau with a right thigh injury and will undergo further examination.