Maria Sharapova admitted she played "Under-14 tennis" as her first match as new world No1 almost ended in a shock defeat here today before she scraped a 6-1, 3-6, 8-6 victory over rookie Evgeniya Rodina.

It was a worrying opening to Sharapova's bid for a first French Open title, having assumed the No1 spot following Justine Henin's shock retirement earlier this month. The Russian superstar appeared to be struggling to cope with the pressure during 2hrs 28mins on court against her compatriot, who was making her Grand Slam debut.

Strong winds caused dust to be blown around court but Sharapova initially coped well. However, she only delivered one drop shot in the second set despite pinning her fellow Russian, ranked world No104, well behind the baseline.

The top seed also failed to adjust her ball toss to take the wind into consideration and insisted on going for the lines with a big first serve instead of playing the percentages.

Sharapova said: "I started off well, won the first set pretty comfortably then I kind of went downhill. I was trying to be somebody else that I'm not, and that can get you into trouble. It did today.

"Apart from eating and breathing the sand, it was great! I had problems in every department of my game and when you are out there playing Under- 14 tennis and pushing the balls, you create many problems and are fortunate to get through.

"Realistically, I don't know if there's any way down from here."

Elsewhere in the draw, seventh seed Elena Dementieva, of Russia, won her match 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 against compatriot Vera Dushevina, while Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, the ninth seed, lost 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 against Casey Dellacque, of Australia.

In the men's section, three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal recovered from a slow start to beat Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 in just over two and a half hours.

The Spaniard, who is unbeaten at Roland Garros, will play world No148 Nicolas Devilder, of France, in the second round. Former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero's campaign ended when he quit with a leg injury while leading Brazilian Marcos Daniel 7-6, 2-2.

Lleyton Hewitt, the No25 seed, won 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 against Nicolas Mahut, of France, while fifth seed David Ferrer beat Belgium's Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

Mikhail Youzhny, the 15th seed, registered another win for Russia, beating Germany's Benjamin Becker 6-1, 6-3, 7-6.