Clijsters through on Paris return

Kim Clijsters emerged victorious from her first French Open match in five years thanks to a reasonably straightforward 6-2 6-3 win over Anastasiya Yakimova.

The Belgian is bidding for her third grand slam title in a row after victories in New York and Melbourne but her build-up to the tournament has been less than ideal.

Clijsters has not played since March after suffering a serious ankle injury dancing at a wedding and she admitted last week that she has not yet fully recovered.

The Belgian never won the French Open prior to her retirement in 2007 but she did reach the final twice and was a semi-finalist on her last appearance in 2006.

The world number two, who missed last year’s tournament with a foot injury, was certainly not at her best on Court Suzanne Lenglen and allowed Yakimova to break when she served for the match at 5-1 in the second set.

The Belarusian had points to make it 5-4, and she was unlucky not to take the first one when a shot that looked to have landed on the sideline was called out.

But, despite making 33 unforced errors, the second seed eventually closed out the match to book a second-round date with Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus.