Open-Third seed Petrova upended by Morigami

PARIS, May 30 (Reuters) Third seed Nadia Petrova suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the French Open today, beaten 6-2 6-2 by Akiko Morigami of Japan.

The Russian, who has won four titles this year, looked unusually sluggish and was beaten in just over an hour.

Petrova missed the Italian Open two weeks ago with a pectoral injury and against Morigami she struggled to create her usual power, allowing the Japanese to dictate most of the points.

Morigami broke Petrova twice on her way to winning the first set and, after breaking twice more in the second, held her nerve to serve out for victory.

REUTERS CH RK2122