Svetlana Kuznetsova beats Varvara Lepchenko at Portugal Open

Sixth-seeded Benoit Paire of France beat Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands 7-6 (5), 6-3 Monday in the opening round of the Portugal Open. The top three men's

Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Varvara Lepchenko 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2 :: Imago/ZumaPress.com

Sixth-seeded Benoit Paire of France beat Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands 7-6 (5), 6-3 Monday in the opening round of the Portugal Open.

The top three men's seeded players, led by David Ferrer, have first-round byes in the clay-court tournament.

In the women's event, fourth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain overcame New Zealand's Marina Erakovic 6-3, 6-0. Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia came from behind to beat sixth-seeded Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2.

Seventh-seeded Elena Vesnina of Russia posted a 6-4, 6-1 win over Portugal's Maria Joao Koehler.