Tennis: Murray advances but Zverev falls

Andy Murray reacts during the first round match against Andrey Kuznetsov. Photo / Getty Images

With intimations of his Roland Garros demise appearing greatly exaggerated, world No.1 Andy Murray played it straight by the French Open form book with a mostly regulation 6-4 4-6 6-2 6-0 first-round win over Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov.

After a confidence-sapping run-in to the tournament he came within one match of winning last year, the top seed would have been hoping for an easy introduction to settle the nerves.

For the most part, his 73rd-ranked opponent obliged, as the rich run of form that last week took Kuznetsov to the semi-final of the Geneva Open deserted him under the gaze of a packed Philippe Chatrier crowd.

The main showcourt had already played host to upsets in the day's first two matches, with Murray's compatriot, seventh-seeded Johanna Konta, going down in three sets to Taiwan's unseeded Hsieh Su-Wei in the women's draw, and Spain's Fernando Verdasco ousting German ninth seed Alexander Zverev in four.

For a while some may have sensed the possibility of a third shock as the Scot began tentatively, his tennis underpowered and his manner subdued.

Recovering from illness and injury, his love affair with clay has turned sour this year, with early-round losses this month to Borna Coric in Madrid and Fabio Fognini in Rome.

He was broken when serving for the first set at 5-4, but Kuznetsov handed the break right back in the next game. Murray then lost his bearings midway through the second set, dropping four games in a row to allow the Russian to square the match.

Bolstered by the returning presence in his box of Ivan Lendl, his coach in grand slams since 2012 and credited with adding an extra edge of aggression to his game, the Scot then moved through the gears, mixing drops shots with lobs and adding more depth to his groundstrokes.

He breezed through the third and fourth sets with the loss of just two games and ended the match full of smiles that hinted at his relief over a potentially tricky hurdle negotiated.

"He (Kuznetsov) goes for his shots, he plays very aggressively, so he takes your time away. But it was quite windy today ... and that can make things difficult," Murray said in a courtside interview.

"I started to play better as the match went on ... I have very good memories of Paris and I will try to have another good run this year."

Romanian third seed Simona Halep has moved smoothly into the French Open second round with a 6-2 6-3 win over Slovakia's Jana Cepelova, showing no ill effects from the ankle ligament she tore less than two weeks ago.

Having come close to pulling out of the tournament due the injury, sustained in a losing cause in the Italian Open final, the Romanian faced a potentially tricky first-round outing against a player she lost to the last time they met, at Wimbledon in 2015.

But tapping into the rich vein of form on clay that also took her to the Madrid Open title in mid-May, Halep's groundstrokes were too fast and too accurate for Cepelova on Tuesday, who made 23 forced and 29 unforced errors.

"Today was a great day for me. I really played well," she said courtside. Halep faces Germany's Tatjana Maria in the second round.

Britain's world No.8 Johanna Konta insists she is happy with the progress she has made through the clay season despite crashing out in the first round.

The seventh seed appeared to have a kind draw against world No.109 Hsieh Su-wei as she sought her first main-draw win at Roland Garros.

Konta raced through the first set but then got bogged down in a battle and became thoroughly frustrated as Taiwan's Hsieh ground out a 1-6 7-6 (2) 6-4 victory.

"My expectations are never results-orientated," she said.

"Whether I've lost first round or third round or quarters, I do my best to not judge myself on that aspect.

"I do feel I'm a better player at the end of these last few weeks on the surface than I was at the beginning and that is the most I can ask of myself: to keep improving."

Konta's elimination was the major women's upset on Tuesday at Roland Garros. Elsewhere, fellow seeds Barbora Strycova, Carla Suarez-Navarro and Caroline Garcia defeated Alison Riske (6-3 6-0), Maria Sakkari (6-4 6-2) and Nao Hibino (6-2 6-2) respectively. Anastasija Sevastova and Daria Kasatkina also booked their spots in the second round.

Fifth seed Elina Svitolina proved too strong for Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova 6-4 6-3, while Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova made light work of Germany's Mona Barthel 6-0 6-4.