Venus Williams wins as French Open begins

American teenager Venus Williams, who played her first Grand Slam tournament at last year's French Open, had a shaky first few minutes against Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, losing the first two games. But then she coasted to a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

Venus, seeded eighth, had back-to-back service winners at 108 mph (173 kph) in the third game of the second set. "I was having fun last year, sliding and sliding and sliding" on the clay, she said. "Now I know what to do
on the court. I'm able to adjust to my opponent."

Much of the attention this year, however, is on the women -- particularly the Williams sisters and Anna Kournikova.

Kournikova, a striking Russian blonde who has become a darling of the French press, was scheduled to play her first-round match Monday against Amelie Mauresmo of France. Kournikova is seeded 13th. She'll be sharing the spotlight with Venus and Serena Williams, who are treating their stay in Paris as a business trip.

There will be no sightseeing, no museums, no leisurel walks along the banks of the Seine for the tennis-playing sisters -- just plenty of time on the ractice courts, a few interviews and, of course, some shopping.

An older sister tried to convince Venus and Serena to join her at a museum. But their focus was on the clay courts.

"We have no desires at this time -- other than on the court," Venus said. "My sister wants to go to the Louvre, but I don't think so." Serena, who at 16 is a year younger than Venus, does not play until Tuesday.

Venus lost in the second round of the French Open last year, but has improved tremendously on clay since then. She made the final of the Italian Open earlier this month, losing to Hingis.

While not practicing or meeting with reporters -- Serena was interviewed live Sunday evening on French TV, and the two had a photo session with Britain's Daily Telegraph -- the sisters found time to shop and complete their color scheme for the tournament.

Venus will wear white, blue and turquoise beads in her hair during the tournament. Serena has chosen white, green and lime for her beads, which rattle as the sisters slam groundstrokes. They also chose nonprescription contact lenses to change the color of their eyes. Venus picked out a gray-blue pair, while Serena stuck with her favorite color -- lilac.

The sisters have never faced each other in the final of a professional tournament, but have a chance to do that at the French Open since they're in opposite halves of the draw.

I've deleted parts of this article but havn't written in a thing because it wasn't all focused on the Williams. The entire article can be found at the cnnsi tennis website.