Top seed Andy Murray has 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 that he won in 45 minutes, 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 through the third and fourth sets for the loss of just two games.

Earrlier Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco caused a major upset, eliminating in-form Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-2 in the first round after their clash had been interrupted at one set all on Monday.

The 33-year-old clay court specialist outmuscled the German when play resumed on Tuesday, with Zverev having lost his momentum from a day earlier when he had grabbed the second set and looked in complete control.

Stan Wawrinka is safely through to the second round after a straight sets win over Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia.

Wawrinka started his clay season poorly before emerging with a title at the Geneva Open last week. The No.3 seed kept up his momentum at Roland Garros in a 6-2 7-6 (6) 6-3 victory.

“I enjoyed it very much,” said Wawrinka, who won at Roland Garros in 2015. “It was not necessarily easy after I played in Geneva until Saturday to get into gear. I’m feeling good, I’m playing good tennis and I’m happy to be back in Paris.”

Elsewhere rising South Korean Chung Hyeon eliminated 27th seed Sam Querry of the US in four sets while Slovakia’s Martin Klizan prevailed over Laurent Lokoli of France in a five-set epic.

Gael Monfils, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Denis Istomin and Juan Martin del Potro made light work of their respective first-round encounters, all prevailing in straight sets on Tuesday.

Nicolas Almagro won a tight fourth-set encounter over Marcos Baghdatis while Paolo Lorenzi, Karen Khachanov and hometown hope Jeremy Chardy all advanced.