TENNIS in DEPTH.

Defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame a sluggish opening to get her French Open title defence off to a winning start.

Sorana Cirstea – a quarter-finalist in Paris 12 months ago – was a tricky first-round opponent, especially for a player who arrived a Roland Garros having lost three straight matches on the WTA Tour.

And the early stages of the contest on Court Philippe Chatrier suggested a shock could be on the cards.

The Russian lost her opening service game and was soon 3-0 down as the errors flowed from her racquet.

However, she soon settled down and rattled off six straight games to turn the set around, winning it in 38 minutes.

Victoria Azarenka, the 10th seed, became the first big-name casualty at this year’s French Open on Sunday.

The Belarusian was thrashed 6-1 6-2 by Argentina’s Gisela Dulko on Court Suzanne Lenglen at Roland Garros.

Azarenka has been suffering with a groin injury of late and clearly was below her best against an opponent ranked 34 places below her in the world at 45th.

Her serve came under constant threat – she was broken five times in total – as Dulko dominated affairs.

It was a sorry way to go out for Azarenka, who made the quarter-finals at this tournament in 2009.

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