Russian Dinara Safina entered the Paris Open second round with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands on Monday.
Seventh-seeded Safina, who won the tournament in 2005, made the best of her only opportunity to break in the ninth game to take the first set in 38 minutes.
After an early exchange of serve in the second set, Marat Safin's younger sister, 20, broke decisively in the 11th game to lead 6-5.
Safina, who won the Gold Coast tournament this year, wrapped up the victory in 85 minutes on her first match point with a winning backhand.
She will face either Frenchwoman Camille Pin or Hungarian qualifier Agnes Szavay in the next round.
Emilie Loit of France, who benefited from a wild card, needed two hours and 51 minutes to beat Greece's Eleni Daniilidou 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 on her eighth match point.
On Tuesday, Czech fifth seed Nicole Vaidisova takes on Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai while Swiss sixth seed Patty Schnyder starts her challenge against Russian qualifier Ekaterina Bychkova.
Belgian Justine Henin, France's Amelie Mauresmo and Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova, the four top seeds, have been granted a bye for the first round and will start playing on Wednesday or Thursday.
