No. 1 Serena Williams makes dominant return, 12 months after 1st-round loss at French Open

Serena Williams of the United States adjusts her hair during a press conference for the 2013 French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Friday May, 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2013 file photo, Serena Williams watches her return to Russia's Maria Kirilenko in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia. Rafael Nadal's sustained excellence on clay and Serena Williams' current winning streak mean little thought is being given to the sort of surprises the French Open used to produce regularly. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File) (The Associated Press)

As she prepares to start the French Open on Sunday against a much-lower-ranked opponent, Serena Williams says she learned something by exiting in the first round at Roland Garros 12 months ago.

Says Williams: "Sometimes I think, 'Should I be happy that I lost last year?'"

Since that only opening-match defeat in 50 Grand Slam appearances, Williams has dominated her sport, going 67-3, returning to No. 1 in the rankings, and winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open to lift her major title total to 15. Only five women have won more, and one of them, Chris Evert, fully expects Williams to keep moving up the list.

Other players in action on Day 1 at the clay-court tournament include Williams' older sister, 30th-seeded Venus, and 17-time major champion Roger Federer.