PARIS (REUTERS) - Ninth seed Venus Williams reached the fourth round of the French Open for the first time since 2010 when she downed French hope Alize Cornet 7-6(5) 1-6 6-0 in a rain-disrupted match on Saturday.

Williams, whose best result at Roland Garros came in 2002 when she lost to her sister Serena in the final, will next face Swiss eighth seed Timea Bacsinszky.

After the tie was interrupted by rain for 2-1/2 hours early on, the American relied on her experience to bag the opening set tiebreak but she visibly tired in the second as Cornet easily levelled the contest.

The seven-times grand slam champion was back to her best for the decider, wrapping it up with an exquisite sliced crosscourt backhand winner.