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In her final tournament, Kerber kept her hopes of a fairytale farewell alive, claiming a 7-5 6-3 victory in just 69 minutes at the end of a rainy opening day at Roland Garros.

Osaka started strongly, racing into a 3-1 lead, but Kerber fought back and eventually got the vital break in the penultimate game of the set to edge in front.

The two were evenly matched again at the start of the second, but Osaka struggled to maintain her high level and lost her serve twice at the end as Kerber's four-game winning run carried her over the line.

Kerber will now face Jaqueline Cristian of Romania in the second round.

Kerber won a silver medal in singles at Rio 2016, and she is looking to sign off her glittering career by going one better in Paris.

She asserted her dominance in the second set, particularly, winning 13 of 14 points when she got her first delivery into play.

Kerber also bows out holding a 5-2 head-to-head record over Osaka, who once again struggled on clay.