Roger Federer admitted he was relieved to have got his first-round match out of the way as his quest for a first French Open title got under way yesterday.

THIRD seed Jelena Jankovic was keen to distance herself from the favourite’s tag after kicking off her French Open campaign with a laboured first-round victory on a rain-affected day in Paris yesterday.

FORMER Wimbledon champion Venus Williams came back from the dead to deny the “Graveyard of Champions” another scalp.