Fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova wasted little time after a lengthy rain delay at the French Open and swept aside Japan's Aiko Nakamura in their first-round clash.

Svetlana Kuznetsova showed immaculate timing, first by dodging the Paris showers and then by pummelling Japan's Aiko Nakamura in their opening-round French Open clash.

Left to wait almost three hours before the rain ceased, the fourth seed hit the ground running and beat her 24-year-old opponent 6-2 6-3 in 64 minutes, finishing the rout just moments before the heavens opened once again.

Kuznetsova was beaten by Justine Henin in the 2006 final at Roland Garros and the diminutive Belgian, whose shock retirement this month threw the field wide open, has suggested the Russian could be the heir apparent to her clay crown.

The Russian proved too strong for Nakamura, who took her lamentable main draw record at Roland Garros to 0-4.

She broke the Japanese serve twice in the first set and again in game seven of the second after her opponent threatened to make a match of it at 3-3.

The Russian broke again in the final game, clinching victory when Nakamura's forehand ballooned over the baseline and she now faces either American Vania King or French wildcard Violette Huck in the second round.

Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo showed glimpses of her old brilliance to reach the second round with a 7-5 4-6 6-1 win over Ukraine's Olga Savchuk.

The 22nd seed needed two hours 29 minutes to earn a meeting with Spanish qualifier Carla Suarez Navarro, who beat France's Pauline Parmentier 6-4 5-7 6-2.

Frenchwoman Mauresmo, who had not played since last month's Fed Cup tie in Japan because of an abdominal injury, dropped serve three times in a scrappy first set but also broke four times.

Savchuk then piled on the pressure in the second set after a three-hour rain delay, breaking in the 10th game to level the match.

Mauresmo, who has two Grand Slam titles to her name but has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals here, found her flowing backhand in the decider and finally clinched victory on her third match point.

Compatriot Marion Bartoli, Wimbledon runner-up last year and seeded ninth here, was 6-5 up against Australian Casey Dellacqua when rain ended play for the day.

Fellow Russian Dinara Safina, the 13th seed was also safely through seeing off Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-1 6-3 to set up a clash with either Croatia's Karolina Sprem or Slovakian qualifier Magdalena Rybarikova.

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Reuters