( CNN ) -- World No . 1 Victoria Azarenka rallied from a set and 4-0 down to unseeded Italian Alberta Brianti as she eventually emerged into the second round of the French Open on Monday . The 22-year-old looked like she would achieve the unwanted feat of becoming the first top-seeded player to lose in the opening round at Roland Garros in the Open era . But after Brianti moved to within two games of a landmark victory Azarenka , from Belarus , won 12 of the next 14 to finally earn a clash with Germany 's Dinah Pfizenmaier . `` I was kind of thinking there was a flight straight to Minsk around 3pm tomorrow , so I could catch that , '' Azarenka told the WTA Tour 's official website . `` But I did n't want to leave too soon . Courting China : Li Na leaps up sport 's rich list . `` I think it was maybe a mix of things , '' Azarenka added of her below-par opening to the tournament . `` I was waiting a long time for my first match here , so I could n't wait to get out there . Maybe I was rushing too much to finish the points . `` Plus I also have to give Alberta a lot of credit , she played really well , and she pushed me to dig deep today . Bad days happen . The important thing is how I came out of it . '' Defending champion Li Na , from China , had no such difficulties as she eased into round two with a regulation 6-2 6-1 victory over Romania 's Sorana Cirstea . The 30-year-old became the first Asian winner of a grand slam singles title at last year 's event and is aiming to become the first woman since Belgium 's Justine Henin in 2007 to successfully defend her crown . `` I 'll just try my best , '' she told reporters . `` It 's tough for me to stay at the same level all the time . '' Li will now face France 's Stephanie Foretz Gacon in the next round . Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska sped to a 6-1 6-0 win over Serbia 's Bojana Jovanovksi in just 49 minutes and will now face seven-time grand slam winner Venus Williams in round two . Home favorite and No . 8 seed Marion Bartoli progressed into the second round with a 6-3 6-3 win over Czech qualifier Karolina Plizkova . But Russian 11th seed Vera Zvonareva withdrew from the tournament on Monday morning with a right shoulder injury . Sabine Lisicki , the No . 12 seed from Germany , slumped to a surprise 6-4 6-3 defeat to America 's Bethanie Mattek-Sands . There were also victories on Monday for Slovakia 's Dominika Cibulkova , Serbia 's Jelena Jankovic , Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic and Italy 's No . 17 seed Roberta Vinci .
World No . 1 Victoria Azarenka faces huge scare in French Open first round . Azarenka goes a set and 4 - 0 down before fighting back to beat Alberta Brianti . Defending champion Li Na enjoys smooth passage through to round two . Vera Zvonareva , the number one seed , pulls out of tournament through injury .