Headline PH: '09 champ Kuznetsova beats Cirstea at French Open

PARIS – Taking the court for a morning match to start the French Open, defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova needed extra time to get going.

Robin Soderling followed her onto the stadium clay and was ready from the first swing.

Kuznetsova lost the first six points and first three games Sunday, then swept nine games in a row and beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-1.

Soderling, who ended Rafael Nadal's reign at the French Open a year ago, won the first nine games and defeated wild card Laurent Recouderc 6-0, 6-2, 6-3.

Kuznetsova, seeded sixth, arrived at Roland Garros only 1-3 on clay this year, and she drew a dangerous opening opponent in Cirstea, a quarterfinalist a year ago.

The match began shortly after 11 a.m., and even in a nearly empty stadium, Kuznetsova found herself a bit rattled.

"Definitely I was a little bit nervous," she said. "It was rough start for me."

The Russian needed 12 minutes to win a game, but she was in control after that. Three times she rallied to take a game after losing the first three points.

"She was down, so she had to change a little bit," Cirstea said. "She went more for her shots, and they went in."

Cirstea squandered chances to get back into the match in the second set, when she failed to convert all four break points.

By STEVEN WINE,
AP Sports Writer

You might like this: