Serbian Jelena Jankovic battled into the second round of the French Open with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Romania's Monica Niculescu on Monday.
Serve and volley is no folly in Paris
Jankovic, seeded third, will meet either Italian Tathiana Garbin or New Zealand's Marina Erakovic.
There were six breaks of serve in a scrappy opening set and, despite taking a 3-0 lead, Jankovic was forced to a decider which she won 7-3 as the clock ticked past the hour.
World number 86 Niculescu, who was making her Roland Garros debut, boldly took her chances, annoying Jankovic with a series of drop shots.
However, the 23-year-old Serb, a semi-finalist on the Paris clay last year, broke in the fifth and seventh games of the second set to wrap it up on her first match point after 92 minutes when Niculescu netted an easy backhand.
