Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic started her 2009 season with a 6-4, 6-2 win yesterday over Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic at the Brisbane International in Australia.
Ivanovic, who reached the Australian Open final last season and had the No. 1 ranking for part of the year after winning the French, set up triple match point on Kvitova's serve and clinched it with a forehand winner.
The 21-year-old Serb will next play Italy's Roberta Vinci, who beat Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld 0-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Ivanovic needed an hour to take the first set, with Kvitova frequently pouncing on her second serve, and also got the benefit of an overrule at 4-4 which gave her momentum.
She held that game and then broke Kvitova's serve to take the set. Ivanovic was more convincing in the second, dropping serve once but breaking Kvitova's serve three times.
At the end, she waved and blew kisses to the vocal, pro-Serbian crowd.
"It is always tough," she said. "I had to fight for each point. It's good, especially in a first match."
Ivanovic ended last season at No. 5 in the rankings, recovering with two titles after an injury-hampered mid-season.
Amelie Mauresmo shook off some rust and tried out a few new techniques in a difficult first-round win yesterday over Jelena Dokic.
Mauresmo, whose ranking has slipped to No. 24 from No. 1 in 2006 when she won two Grand Slam titles, faced two set points in the first against Australia's Dokic before she rallied to win 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5).
Three seeded players tumbled out of the women's draw yesterday.
Italy's Sara Errani beat fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-0; Olga Govortsova of Belarus ousted No. 8 Francesca Schiavone of Italy 7-5, 6-2; and Australian Samantha Stosur beat No. 9 Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-2, 6-3.
On the men's side, Finland's Jarkko Nieminen advanced 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 over an ailing Marcos Baghdatis.
Baghdatis, who earned a big following Down Under when he reached the Australian Open final in 2006, needed treatment on his left hamstring in the second set.
But he said it was his general condition following a back problem that curtailed his 2008 season which caused his problems in Brisbane.
Eighth-seeded Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic beat Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 6-2, 6-2.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily January 6, 2009)
