Murray, Stan ease through

PARIS, May 30 

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Top seed Andy Murray cleared a potentially tricky first round hurdle at the French Open, downing in-form Russian Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4 4-6 6-2 6-0. 

After a regulation first set, the world No. 1 lost his bearings midway through the second, dropping four games in a row to allow his 73rd-ranked opponent to square the match. The Scot then moved through the gears and breezed the third and fourth sets with the loss of just two games.

Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka, the third seed, beat Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia 6-2 7-6(6) 6-3. Wawrinka, the 2015 champion, will face Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in the second round. Spaniard Fernando Verdasco beat young German Alexander Zverev 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-2. The match was halted on Monday due to poor light and rain. On Tuesday, Verdasco, 33, was a picture of consistency against the 20-year-old Zverev, who came to Roland Garros on a high after winning the Italian Open last week. — Reuters

Frenchman Hamou kicked out after kissing journalist

Maxime Hamou was banished from the French Open on Tuesday after the French player kissed and cuddled a TV journalist following his first-round exit, the French tennis federation (FFT) said. Footage of the interview showed Hamou pulling the female journalist close before kissing her on the side of the head. As the reporter looked embarrassed and tried to push him away, he kissed her again. After answering a question he kissed her a third time, and pulled her towards him while she tried to peel his hand off her chest. “Had it not been live, I would have punched him with a right," the interviewer Maly Thomas said.

French player snubs handshake after ‘fake injury’ row

French wildcard Laurent Lokoli refused to shake the hand of Martin Klizan after claiming his Slovakian opponent had faked injury in a bitter clash today. Lokoli snubbed Klizan as the 27-year-old world No. 50 offered his hand after completing a 7-6(4) 6-3 4-6 0-6 6-4 win. Lokoli, the world No. 285, argued that Klizan, who claimed he was suffering from a calf injury, was being disrespectful. “He made out he had a leg injury but then in the fifth set he was running around like a rabbit,” said the Corsican. Klizan said he suffered the injury three weeks ago and had pulled out of the Madrid, Rome and Geneva tournaments. 

Major results

Women’s Round 1

3-Simona Halep bt Jana Cepelova 6-2 6-3; Eugenie Bouchard bt Risa Ozaki 2-6 6-3 6-2; Hsieh Su-Wei bt 7-Johanna Konta 1-6 7-6(2) 6-4  

Men’s Round 1

13-Tomas Berdych bt Jan-Lennard Struff 6-1 6-1 4-6 6-4; 8-Kei Nishikori bt Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6 6-1 6-4 6-4; 18-Nick Kyrgios bt Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 7-6(4) 6-3