Rusedski out of French Open

Greg Rusedski beaten 6-7 0-6 0-6 in first round of French Open by Fernando Verdasco.

Rusedski simply had no answer to the speed and confidence of Verdasco and the third set went much the way of the second.

He lost his serve in the second game as the winners flew from the racket of the Spaniard and Rusedski increasingly looked a dejected figure.

Rusedski's game began to fall apart at the beginning of the second set.

He lost consecutive service games as Verdasco showed why he is one of the brightest prospects on the clay circuit and number 21 in the current champions race.

The man from Madrid cashed in on Rusedski's lack of match practice, manoeuvring him around the court, his groundstrokes too precise and penetrating for the British number two.

A weak Rusedski backhand finally brought the set to an end with Verdasco winning it 6-0 to take a commanding lead at two sets to love.

He tried chipping and charging but without success and his misery finally ended when he hit a volley into the net tape and it dropped agonisingly on his own side of the net for Verdasco win the set and the match 7-6 6-0 6-0.