Tennis: Champion ousted at French Open

Defending French tennis Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has crashed out in the third round at Roland Garros.

The sixth seeded Russian has been beaten in three sets by compatriot Maria Kirilenko.

It has been a day of catch-up for organisers after two days of rain.

Venus Williams beat 26th seed Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 6-4 and says she is feeling good about her form. She says she is moving well and serving well so it is positive for her.

Others to go through to the fourth round later in the day included fifth seed Elena Dementieva and Italian Flavia Pennetta who won January's ASB Classic in Auckland.

Meanwhile, it's been a grim time for local stars on the Parisian clay.

French men have matched their worst result at the French Open since the tournament allowed foreigners to enter in 1925, with only one player reaching the third round.

The last time there was only one French player remaining in the tournament at this stage was in 1995. There was also only one French player in the third round in 1993 and 1969.

After Florent Serra and Nicolas Mahut lost Friday, the eight-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was France's only representative in the third round of the clay-court Grand Slam. He then advanced to the fourth round by defeating Thiemo De Bakker 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-4 overnight (NZ time).

"This is sad, because it means the others didn't advance," Tsonga said. "It's a pity, but this is it and I will try to do even better in my next match."

Nineteen French players where included in the main draw this year but only two of them were seeded - Tsonga and No. 13 Gael Monfils.

Monfils lost in five sets to Fabio Fognini of Italy in the second round while Richard Gasquet was eliminated in the first round after wasting a two-set lead against Andy Murray.

"I was sad to see Richard losing because he was my bet, I thought he could go deep in this tournament," Tsonga said. "And for Gael it went close."

The last Frenchman to win at Roland Garros was Yannick Noah in 1983, while Mary Pierce lifted the trophy 10 years ago for the last French victory in the woman's tournament.

Of the 12 French women who started the tournament, only two reached the third round: 13th-seeded Marion Bartoli and No. 15 Aravane Rezai.

The worst year for French woman's tennis at Roland Garros was in 1981, when the five players included in the draw lost in the first round.

Rezai's third-round match against Nadia Petrova of Russia was suspended by darkness Friday with the score at 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-7.

The 67th-ranked Serra, who lost to seventh-seeded Fernando Verdasco Friday, said this year's results doesn't mean French tennis is in crisis.

"Many of us are in the top 100 and if it's not at Roland Garros, we will have good performances in Wimbledon or at the US Open," Serra said.

- NEWSTALK ZB, AP