Venus Williams started her 20th French Open with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) win over China’s Wang Qiang on Sunday..

Williams, seeded 10 and three weeks shy of her 37th birthday, had to dig deep to see off her opponent who had led 4-2 in the first set and 5-3, with set points, in the second.

The American veteran, who made her Roland Garros debut in 1997 and was runner-up to sister Serena in Paris in 2002, will next face Japan’s Kurumi Nara.

Nara defeated 15-year-old Amanda Anisimova of the United States in three sets.