Petra Kvitova survived a major scare to reach the second round of the French Open on a rain-affected day at Roland Garros.
The 10th seed and two-time Wimbledon champion was cruising at a set and 3-0 up on Montenegro's Danka Kovinic but had to dig deep to come through 6-2 4-6 7-5.
In damp and heavy conditions, Kvitova found herself staring down the barrel when Kovinic, ranked 57 in the world, served for the match at 5-4 in the decider.
But Kvitova, who is no stranger to long matches, found her form just in time to come through after two hours and 16 minutes.
The Czech said: "The conditions weren't really easy today. I think that in the second set when I was serving for 4-1, I missed four easy backhands and I felt like that was the turning point and I was down mentally after this game.
"She came back and tried to play more aggressive. I was just running too far from the baseline. She started to serve well, as well, and I missed my serve a lot.
"It was a very difficult match. But in the end, I think that the end of the match was kind of solid from my side. It was a big fight again. I'm happy that I won it."
More play was possible than a miserable forecast had suggested but fewer than a third of matches were completed.
Last year's runner-up, Lucie Safarova, was interrupted by a lengthy rain break but did not let that affect her as she eased past Vitalia Diatchenko 6-0 6-2.
The Czech has had a miserable time with illness since her stunning run at Roland Garros 12 months ago but is finally healthy and looking to challenge again.
