Venus Williams reaches 2nd round at French Open

Paris: Venus Williams advanced to the second round of the French Open by beating Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-4, 6-1 Sunday.

Williams was down a break early in the first set, but she was able to recover and take control of the match.

The 29th-seeded American has won seven Grand Slam titles, but she lost to little sister Serena the only time she reached the French Open final in 2002.

This season, Venus won in Dubai in February, her first title since 2012.