PARIS - A former French Open champion was too much for Canada's Rebecca Marino to handle.
The Vancouver native had her run at Roland Garros come to an end Friday with a 6-0, 6-4 loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round.
"I was tying to get past the one-hour mark," Marino joked after losing in 49 minutes. "I didn't make it. It was difficult to get into the match.
"The player was a lot tougher than the previous round."
The 20-year-old had never previously reached the third round of a Grand Slam and was unfortunate to draw the Russian who won this event in 2009.
She was clearly out of her depth in the first set, which lasted just 17 minutes.
But Marino steadied substantially in the second, going toe-to-toe with Kuznetsova until the Russian broke for a 5-4 lead.
With Kuznetsova trying to serve out victory, Marino saved a match point as her opponent hit the net with a low cross-court. Kuznetsova then clinched the victory when Marino fired a forehand short for her 32nd unforced error on a grey, chilly day.
The Canadian finished with 10 winners and four double-faults.
"I wasn't nervous at all, the tennis was just not there in the first set," said Marino. "It was a weird feeling. you can learn from every single match no matter if it is good or bad. She's a past champion so I can't be completely disappointed.
"It was frustrating getting a bagel (6-0), I didn't want to be double-bagelled -- or a bagel and a baguette (6-0, 6-1)."
The lightning-fast opening set went by in a daze.
"She went so quickly between the points, it seemed nonstop," said Marino. "It was hard to get out of that cycle, but the break after the set helped. I didn't feel powerless, but it's not the sort of match you want on a big court, I would expect better of myself.
"I know I can play with these girls. I had a pretty good run here and I'm happy with the week so I can't be disappointed at all."
