Serena Struggles, Sharapova Sharp at WTA Beijing

Serena Williams has lost the "Fear Factor" on the WTA Tour.

Russian Dinara "Little Sis" Safina led 3-1 over the former No. 1 American Wednesday before Williams found her rhythm to string together five consecutive games to survive her debut at the WTA stop in Beijing.

"Out of a 10, I would give myself a 1," said Serena of her performance.

Winning the first set, Serena tossed in some key service miscues to lose the second set, then found herself down in the third, on the wrong end of the baseline bashing she usually dishes out.

"She was really just hitting balls very hard, right on the line," Serena said. "But once I got used to it in the third set I was able to get back."

Since winning in he first tournament back from knee surgery at Miami this year, Serena has come up short of the title in her last eight events, losing in finals at Wimbledon (l. to Maria Sharapova) and Los Angeles (l. to Lindsay Davenport).

Other seeded winners on the day were (3) Sharapova (d. Panova in an all-Russian 1-and-1 pounding), (5) Nadia Petrova (d. Zheng), (6)Gisela "Sgt." Dulko (d. Vento-Kabchi), and (7) Jelena Jankovic (d. Asagoe 7-6 in the third).

In the lone all-unseeded match-up, Spain's Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues beat Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn in straights.

Thursday is Russian Day at the China Open, with Russians in all four matches in Zvonareva vs. Gagliardi, Jankovic vs. Douchevina, Li vs. Kuznetsova, and Mamic vs. Petrova.