Defending champ Kuznetsova wins 1st-round match at French Open; Soderling also advances

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‘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.

A year ago, Kuznetsova beat Serena Williams en route to her second Grand Slam championship. But she has not won any titles this year and her record is 9-9, the worst of any top-10 woman.

“I was not showing as good results as I would like to,” Kuznetsova said, “but I knew this moment has to pass, because I deserve better.”

The tournament began in warm, sunny conditions that had spectators fanning themselves, but Soderling didn’t tax himself in the heat. He lost only nine of 58 points on his serve and broke six times.

“It’s always nice to have a quick match in the early rounds,” the Swede said. “I got to hit a few balls. We had a few rallies. So it was a good match.”

Soderling’s fourth-round win over four-time champion Nadal at Roland Garros still seems shocking a year later. Soderling went on to the final — his best showing in a major event — where he lost to Roger Federer, who completed a career Grand Slam.

“That was all last year,” Soderling said. “I have to start over again. But of course it’s always nice to come back to a place where you did well last year. It gives you good feelings.”

Nadal, now 31-1 lifetime at Roland Garros, is again the tournament favorite and wouldn’t meet the No. 5-seeded Soderling until the final.

Also advancing were No. 10 Marin Cilic and No. 11 Mikhail Youzhny. Cilic beat Ricardo Mello 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, and Youzhny defeated Michal Przysiezny 6-1, 6-0, 6-4.

In women’s play, No. 10 Victoria Azarenka lost to Gisela Dulko 6-1, 6-2. Azarenka had been a quarterfinalist at three of the past four Grand Slam tournaments, including Roland Garros a year ago.

No. 15-seeded Aravane Rezai of France, coming off a victory over Venus Williams in the Madrid final, wowed the partisan crowd with a black and metallic gold outfit, and also with her game. She beat qualifier Heidi El Tabakh 6-1, 6-1.

Varvara Lepchenko won an all-American matchup, ending a streak of seven consecutive losses in Grand Slam matches by beating wild card Christina McHale 7-5, 6-3.

Lepchenko, ranked 127th, was born in Uzbekistan but received political asylum. She lives in Allentown, Pa., and expects to become a U.S. citizen next year.

“I’ve been living there for 10 years now,” she said. “I’m proud that I represent it here.”