Serena Williams to Face Kristyna Pliskova in 1st Round of 2018 French Open

Serena Williams now knows the first opponent standing in her way on the path to winning the 2018 French Open.

According to Ben Rothenberg of the NCR Tennis Podcast, Williams will face No. 70 Kristyna Pliskova in the opening round.

Rothenberg noted Williams’ placement in the top half of the draw means she could face a seed from Nos. 17-24 in the second round, 13-16 in the third round and 5-8 in the fourth round.

Williams is arguably the greatest tennis player in history as a 23-time Grand Slam winner, but this will be her first major since she captured the 2017 Australian Open title while pregnant. She has dropped from the top of the rankings after a 14-month layoff from her pregnancy and subsequent health issues.

Des Bieler of the Washington Post noted Williams "nearly died while giving birth" and suffered blood clots in her lungs and hemorrhaging.

She was not given a seeding in the French Open despite her illustrious resume because of her drop in the rankings, and there was a chance she would face one of the world's best players in the early rounds of the tournament.

Bieler noted a number of players, such as Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep, came out in support of Williams, suggesting the French Open could have protected her seeding given the reason for her layoff.

"It's normal to give birth. It's normal to have protected ranking. … It's more than tennis," Halep said. "So the people will decide what seed she will get. But in my opinion it's good to protect the ranking when someone is giving birth."

Williams lost in straight sets to Naomi Osaka at the Miami Open upon her return, although she won two matches at Indian Wells in March before she lost to her sister, Venus.