French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova's poor form continued on Monday when she was knocked out of the Italian Open 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 by Russian compatriot Maria Kirilenko.

The World No 5 has been exiting tournaments in the early stages all year and the trend looked likely to continue from the moment she fired a backhand into the net to surrender serve in the first game.

Monday's defeat for Kuznetsova, in her first match at a key warm-up tournament, was a bad sign as she prepares for her Roland Garros defence starting later this month.

"I found it hard to play - I didn't have many matches this year," Kuznetsova, who reached the final here last year, said. "I still have to find myself out there."

Unseeded Kirilenko did not have to do a great deal to bag the first set, with the twice Grand Slam winner doing most of the work for her with a raft of mis-hit shots.

Kuznetsova tidied up her act and took the second set and then pulled herself level after going 4-1 down in the decider only to let serve and the match slip in the last game.

World No 1 Serena Williams will make her return in the tournament on Tuesday, having been out of action with a knee problem since winning the Australian Open in January.

Her second-round opponent will be Swiss Timea Bacsinszky, who beat Czech Sandra Zahlavova 6-0, 6-4.

Serbia's former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, who has slipped to 58th in the rankings after being top two years ago, progressed to the second round with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Russian Elena Vesnina.