Petra Kvitova hopes she can be an inspiration to others after making a winning comeback from her horrific ordeal.
Just five months after she suffered career-threatening hand injuries when she was stabbed by an intruder at her home, the two-time Wimbledon champion defeated Julia Boserup 6-3 6-2 in the first round of the French Open.
Kvitova's parents and two brothers were among her support camp on Court Philippe Chatrier, with her team decked out in T-shirts bearing the slogan 'Courage, Belief, Pojd ('Come on' in Czech)'.
The 27-year-old said: "At the time where we thought maybe I really could play again, we were thinking how can we do something special.
"The courage and belief, that's what I probably had to have in this kind of situation. The belief and the mind, the heart, it's really important.
"So that's what we try to show everyone. I hope that it will be inspiration for other people as well."
Kvitova only allowed her emotion to show at the end of the match, dropping her racket to the clay and letting a few tears flow.
It was an altogether different day for world number one Angelique Kerber, who became the first top seed in the women's draw at Roland Garros to lose in the first round in the Open era.
The German's 6-2 6-2 loss to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia continued a difficult season and Kerber will be desperate for an improvement on grass.
There were winning starts for potential title contenders Svetlana Kuznetsova and Venus Williams, who turns 37 next month and is playing in a record 20th French Open.
Williams is at a grand slam without sister Serena for the first time since the Australian Open in 2011, with Serena expecting her first child this autumn.
"Obviously I have played events without her," said Venus. "I think I was prepared to come here without her so, when you know something is going to happen, then you're like, 'Okay, I'm ready to deal with this'.
"I think it's not easy for her to watch, because obviously she knows she can do well here. So I think that she's just excited about everything coming up in her life, on and off the court, and excited about returning here hopefully next year."
Dan Evans was the first British player in action and his French Open debut ended in a 5-7 6-4 6-3 6-1 defeat by veteran Spaniard Tommy Robredo.
It was not an enjoyable experience for Evans, who admitted afterwards he ate too close to the match and had to leave the court after the first set to be sick.
The 27-year-old will be more than happy to leave clay behind him - after playing doubles here with Kyle Edmund - and get back onto his favoured grass.
Aljaz Bedene will hope to fly the British flag more successfully on Monday against American Ryan Harrison while defending champions Novak Djokovic and Garbine Muguruza begin their campaigns along with Rafael Nadal.
Source: PA
