TENNIS in DEPTH.

Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova needed three sets to see off China’s Zheng Jie in the first round of the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven.

The French Open champion appeared to be cruising at a set and a break up but Zheng rallied, taking the second set on a tie-break and then moving ahead in the third.

However, Russian Kuznetsova dug deep and fought back to triumph 6-1 6-7 (5/7) 6-4.

Another big name in trouble was Polish fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who was also a break down in the decider before coming through 2-6 6-2 7-6 (7/5) against qualifier Roberta Vinci.

Eighth seed Amelie Mauresmo was a lot more comfortable in a 6-4 6-1 victory over Japan’s Ai Sugiyama.

Days after reaching the semi-finals in Toronto, Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova was sent packing in round one in New Haven, beaten 3-6 6-1 6-4 by Belgian qualifier Yanina Wickmayer.

Magdalena Rybarikova was another qualifier to triumph with a 6-4 6-4 win over Francesca Schiavone while Russian duo Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina both racked up straight sets wins.

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