CHARLESTON — Mary Pierce makes a point of attending Sunday church services no matter what town she is in.

This past Sunday, following her arrival in Charleston for the Family Circle Cup, Pierce dropped in on services at Seacoast Community Christian Church, an interdenominational service that spices up proceedings with contemporary Christian music.

“That was really fun. I enjoyed it a lot,” she said. “It’s kind of like my church at home.”

That is a interesting coincidence, since she looked at home on the Stadium Court Tuesday while playing a tune on Mashona Washington in a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

“I started off really strong, so I think (Washington) felt the pressure,” Pierce said. “I think she made a lot of errors today.”

The numbers support Pierce’s argument. Washington committed 30 unforced errors, a number that, while respectable, paled in comparison to Pierce, who committed 20, including eight in the first set.

More telling was Pierce’s response to break points. Washington pounced on Pierce’s serves and had eight break-point opportunities, but converted one.

“She got the big shots when she needed to,” Washington said. “I think I got a little loose on some of my break-point chances and, against players like her, players of her caliber, you can’t really afford to play loose tennis.”

Pierce said she gears her year toward the short clay-court season with the goal of winning the French Open. The Family Circle Cup is her second step toward that goal this year. Pierce skipped two events to train before entering last week’s clay tournament at Amelia Island.

“I work on things in the two weeks that I practice before I start my (clay court) tournaments and when you play the tournaments, it’s kind of to see where you’re at, what you need to work on,” she said. “I think in the beginning, you don’t start off so great. Even though I won today’s match without a battle, I feel like I could play much better.”

The 30-year-old Pierce is making her 10th appearance at the Family Circle Cup and has a history of doing well. She won the tournament in 2000, the final year it was held on Hilton Head Island. In 2003, she upset Anastasia Myskina and Amanda Coetzer en route to the quarterfinals.

Pierce eased her way into this year’s schedule as she continued to recover from a shoulder injury that prematurely ended her 2004 campaign. Despite the low number of tournaments, she has seen some quality competition.

Pierce is 8-5 this year. Four of the five losses came against three of the world’s top four players: No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo (twice), No. 2 Maria Sharapova and No. 4 Serena Williams.

With another strong showing in Charleston, Pierce said she believes she will peak in time for Roland Garros.

“I knew it was going to take me, like, two or three months to get where I want to be totally,” she said. “The French is my favorite tournament. it’s definitely my goal of the clay court season, if not the year.”