PETRA KVITOVA made an emotional and victorious return to tennis on the opening day of action at the French Open but world No 1 Angelique Kerber was knocked out.

Five months after being stabbed by a burglar, Kvitova looked sharp and eager in a 6-3 6-2 triumph over Julia Boserup.

The 27-year-old, who suffered injuries to all the fingers on her dominant left hand, said on Friday she had won her biggest fight just by being able to play tennis again.

There was nothing positive for Kerber to take from her 6-2 6-2 loss to Ekaterina Makarova as she became the first top seed in the women’s draw to lose in the opening round at Roland Garros in the Open era.

The German, who also lost in round one last year, has had a miserable season and is not a fan of clay so the result came as no real surprise.

Kerber won the Australian Open and US Open titles last year and also reached the final at Wimbledon.

She said: “I have to find myself again and just try to forget the clay court season as soon as possible, and then reset and start from the grass courts again.”