Rafael Nadal eclipsed another mark on his signature red clay court, extending the longest all-win run at the French Open to 29 matches on Friday. By beating Brazil's Marcos Daniel 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round, the current world number one bettered Bjorn Borg's record of consecutive victories at Roland Garros which dated back to the 1978-81 seasons.

Roger Federer began his quest for the only Grand Slam title that had eluded him in impressive style as the second seed was never troubled by Spaniard Alberto Martin and cruised through with a comfortable 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win.

In contrast, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, also biding for an elusive Roland Garros title, was made to work in a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 tough win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Also struggling through was Maria Sharapova. Her eagerly-anticipated return to Grand Slam was far from perfect as the former world number one apparently had to fight back for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Belarussian Anastasia Yakimova.

The Russian, ranked at a lowly 102 after a nine-month absence to cure a shoulder injury, said that her return feels like a second career has just get underway.

"Definitely. It's the first time in my life where I couldn't practice for such a long period of time," said Sharapova. "Everything about it was just bizarre. It was like some things were just taken away from your life."

Russian player Maria Sharapova serves to Belarus' Anastasiya Yakimova during their French Open tennis first round match at Roland Garros stadium in Paris. Sharapova won 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

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