Day three of the French Open saw the likes of Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Marin Cilic take the court in a rain-hit session. While Nadal booked his spot in the second round, he was made to dig deep against his Italian lucky loser Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(9) to reach the second round.

Serena made a winning return to Grand Slam tennis as she beat Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic in straight sets. Sharapova too made a winning return.

Here is a wrap of the day’s event.

Serena wins on Grand Slam comeback

Serena Williams made a winning return to Grand Slam tennis which was as memorable as her body-hugging black catsuit when she reached the Roland Garros second round on Tuesday. The 36-year-old downed Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic 7-6(4), 6-4 to register her first victory at the majors since her 2017 Australian Open triumph.

She will face Australia’s Ashleigh Barty in the next round.

Nadal battles past Bolelli

Rafael Nadal survived a mini-crisis to rack up his 80th win at Roland Garros on Tuesday as the 10-time champion defeated Italian lucky loser Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(9) to reach the second round.

Nadal had to save four set points in the tiebreaker before wrapping a victory. The top seeded Nadal, bidding for an 11th title in Paris and his 17th major, next faces Argentina’s Guido Pella for a place in the last 32.

“I really suffered today but it was a good test,” said Nadal who had been in danger of dropping his first set at Roland Garros since his 2015 quarter-final loss to Novak Djokovic. “It was very difficult. Simone is a very good player and he had lots of chances and was very aggressive. But I am happy to have won here on this court, the most important of my career.”

Sharapova survives scare

Two-time champion Maria Sharapova survived a serious scare to claim a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp in her first French Open match since 2015 on Tuesday. The Russian was controversially not given a wildcard by organisers for the tournament last year, which took place shortly after her return from a doping suspension. Sharapova, the 28th seed, will face Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the second round.

From the sidelines

Lopez equals Federer record

Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez equalled Roger Federer’s record for most consecutive Grand Slam tournaments played by featuring in his 65th straight major. The 36-year-old started his incredible run at Roland Garros back in 2002, with his best Slam effort being three quarter-final appearances – twice at Wimbledon and once at the US Open.

His 18th successive French Open campaign didn’t last long though, losing 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 to lucky loser Sergiy Stakhovsky out on Court Six.

Ace-happy Pliskova

Kristyna Pliskova sent down 15 aces against Serena Williams on Court Philippe Chatrier, the most hit against the great American since such records began to be kept in 2008. It still wasn’t enough to even get a set off the 23-time Grand Slam champion, though, as Williams powered down 13 aces of her own in a 7-6(4), 6-4 win.

Delight for Mattek-Sands after horror injury

Colourful American Bethanie Mattek-Sands claimed an emotional first Tour-level singles win since suffering a horrific knee injury at Wimbledon last July. The 33-year-old, now ranked 202, beat Johanna Larsson 6-4, 6-3 out on Court 14.

A long time waiting for Duckworth

Australian James Duckworth played his first Tour-level match since the 2017 Australian Open after suffering from a foot injury which required surgery. Now ranked 1,072 in the world, the 26-year-old Duckworth was handed a match against world number four Marin Cilic on Court Philippe Chatrier, equipping himself well but falling to a 6-3, 7-5, 7-6(4) defeat.

Quotable quotes 

“I call it like my Wakanda-inspired cat suit. It’s really fun. Although we designed it way before the (Black Panther) movie, but still, it kind of reminds me of that. It was comfortable. I tried it on a couple of times before. Hadn’t tried it on in a long time, like, over a month. So I was just winging it in the last minute.”

Serena Williams on her eye-catching black catsuit.

“That’s expected first Grand Slam back. Nike does a really good job of making statements.”

Maria Sharapova on Serena’s outfit.

“Off the menu, I try to practice with my team. It’s definitely a goal for me to get fluent in French, but it’s a process, you know. I’m learning a bit of Italian, bit of French, a bit of everything.”

Rising star Denis Shapovalov hoping to become multilingual.

“So it’s a serve that recreational players don’t really have the luxury of having. I mean, of course I’m big, but it’s something I’ve done my whole life. It’s like a golfer hitting a 150-yard shot right online every single time.”

Big-serving John Isner attempts to explain how to produce a kick serve.

“No, I don’t know her. I’m going to look her up, but I don’t know her.”

Former champion Garbine Muguruza will enter into the unknown in the second round against French wildcard and World No. 257 Fiona Ferro.

Numbers up

486: Days since Serena Williams played her last Grand Slam match – a final victory over sister Venus at the 2017 Australian Open.

451: Serena’s ranking after her lengthy absence.

80: Wins for Nadal at Roland Garros in his career. He has only lost twice.

6: Sharapova lost six games in a row to World no. 133 Richel Hogenkamp as she fell 3-0 down in the deciding set, but then won six on the spin to claim victory.

4: Amount of set points saved by Rafael Nadal in his entertaining victory over lucky loser Simone Bolelli.