Serena Williams stars in making Paris the City Of Night

WATCH: Serena reacts to her first-round win in Paris

When it comes to the majors and competing under the lights, Serena Williams has long been quite used to thrilling crowds in Melbourne and New York. But who’d have thought that at the age of 39, Williams would encounter something new in tennis? This was night tennis at Roland Garros; albeit, alas, with no fans in the seats.

As the world has seen for decades, Williams feeds off the energy of nighttime tennis as well as anyone in tennis history. Tonight, though, she generated plenty of electricity of her own, fighting off two set points in a first set tiebreaker to subdue 74th-ranked Irina-Camelia Begu 7-6 (6), 6-2.

Said, Williams, “ironically enough, night sessions are not my favorite matches, but I do have a good record at it. Clearly something about it gets me hyped. I have to say it was pretty cool to be able to play the first night session ever here at Roland Garros. That was something I thoroughly enjoyed.”

The match began quite smoothly for Williams, as she took a 5-2 lead in the first set. Begu, though, is a seasoned pro and has moments when her flat, counterpunching array can pose its share of questions. She won four straight games to serve for the set at 6-5. But here the mix of Williams’ competitive prowess and misfired flat drives (likely triggered by nerves) proved too much for the 30-year-old Romanian.

A similar plotline surfaced in the tiebreaker. Serving at 6-4, Begu withstood a salvo of three powerful Williams drives, only to net a facile crosscourt backhand. On the next point, showing what makes her the greatest women’s server in tennis history, Williams struck an extremely deep second serve that elicited a return weak enough for a forehand swing volley winner.

There followed two more rallies of sustained depth and intensity, Williams closing out the set with another untouchable swing volley. “I'm happy that I was able to save those moments,” said Williams. “Did not want to lose that first set. I wasn't thinking at that moment. I was just thinking to get that ball out the air, because I've been hitting some good swing volleys in practice.”

The second set flew by. Williams broke Begu in the opening game and swiftly ran out the match. Begu, her window slammed shut, offered little resistance versus Williams’ mix of familiar power, precision, competitive spirit and, as Williams had shown earlier this year in Australia, improved court coverage. The win upped Williams’ record in Grand Slam first round matches to 77-1, her only loss coming at Roland Garros in 2012.

Only after this match was Williams informed of Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from Roland Garros. “I've been in that position, too,” said Williams. “I've definitely had opportunities to talk to people, kind of get things off my chest that I can't necessarily talk to anyone in my family or anyone that I know. For me it's important to have awareness and make that step.”

Later in her post-match press conference, Williams said, “I feel like I wish I could give her a hug because I know what it’s like.”

The win upped Williams’ record in Grand Slam first round matches to 77-1, her only loss coming at Roland Garros in 2012.