Strasbourg, France, 16 May 2016 | tennis.com.au

Sam Stosur won her opening match at the WTA Internationaux de Strasbourg on Monday to kick off her title defence on the perfect note.

Stosur, who won in Strasbourg in 2015 in the week leading into Roland Garros, beat American qualifier Lauren Davis 6-3 7-5 to advance to the second round.

Serving for the match, Stosur faced a break point but recovered to extinguish the challenge of the world No.115.

Next up for the Aussie is Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei, who beat Xu Yi-Fan in straight sets.

This is Stosur’s fifth claycourt event ahead of the 2016 French Open, giving her plenty of matches and court time in preparation for the claycourt Grand Slam in Paris.