French Open: Sunday 25 May to Sunday 8 June
Coverage: BBC TV, BBCi, Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website.
Maria Sharapova was given a huge scare before reaching the second round of the French Open with a 6-1 3-6 8-6 win over fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina.
The top seed struggled throughout in the blustery conditions, committing 68 unforced errors and 17 double faults.
Rodina, 19, had three break points at 4-3 in the decider but Sharapova found her serve when it counted.
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"I was very lucky to win," admitted Sharapova, who only needs to win the French Open to complete a full set of Grand Slam titles.
"She served well after the first set and I didn't break her until the end of the third set.
"Not many things were working for me today after the first set."
Sharapova, who became world number one following Justine Henin's retirement, had to wait until Wednesday to begin her title campaign in rainy Paris.
But once on court, she looked unlikely to be held up for long by 19-year-old Grand Slam debutant Evgeniya Rodina.
Sharapova swept through the first set in 29 minutes, but then began to struggle in the gusty wind.
Rodina broke serve to go 2-0 up in the second set and, helped by a catalogue of errors from her misfiring opponent, held on to that advantage until 5-3 when she clinched a second break to level the match.
The 19-year-old appeared to be struggling with cramp as the deciding set progressed but that did not stop her earning three break points for a 5-3 lead.
But Sharapova delivered three huge serves to save them and then recovered from 0-30 down and two points from defeat at 4-5 before a tiring Rodina finally succumbed.
The top seed will face American Bethanie Mattek in the second round.
(BBC)
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