PARIS (France): Former champion Stan Wawrinka beat Andy Murray 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 on the opening day of French Open on Sunday.
Wawrinka, the 16th seed who took the title in 2015, had also come out on top when the two last met in Paris in a five-set semifinal in 2017.
Murray, who needed a wild card to play in Paris this year, was competing in a clay court tournament for the first time since that clash.
Wawrinka fired 42 winners past the former world number one and will take on Dominik Koepfer of Germany for a place in the last 32.
Venus Williams suffered a third successive first round exit at the French Open on Sunday as she lost in straight sets to Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
Venus suffers third successive first round exit
The 40-year-old Williams, runner-up at Roland Garros to sister Serena in 2002, was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by an opponent who snapped a 12-match Grand Slam losing streak.
It marked Williams’ third first round defeat in a row at a Slam after exiting the US Open and Australian Open at the same stage.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion has not been past the third round at a major since 2017. She has lost eight of nine matches on tour this year.
Williams dropped serve six times in cold, blustery conditions in Paris as Schmiedlova registered her first main draw victory at a Slam since the 2015 US Open.
