No. 2 seed
Kim Clijsters was challenged in her mission this week to re-take the No. 1 ranking with a title at the Italian Open in Rome, in second-round action Wednesday coming from a set down to defeat Japanese qualifier
Akiko Morigami 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
"The clay was completely different," Clijsters said. "You have to change your mindset, and you have to adjust your movement a little bit. It takes a little bit of time, especially in a match, to get used to that and to get that feeling back."
Other seeded winners Wednesday were (5)
Elena Dementieva (d. Peng by walkover), (6)
Patty Schnyder (d. Dushevina), (10) Anatasia Myskina (d. Vinci in three after a bagel in the first), (11) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (d. Nakamura), (15)
Flavia Pennetta (d. Castano), and (16)
Dinara Safina (d. Camerin).
Unseeded players orchestrating upsets on the day were Russian
Vera Zvonareva who dropped only four games against No. 17
Nathalie Dechy, and Spain's
Anabel Medina Garrigues who toppled No. 18
Ai Sugiyama in three sets.
Highlights Thursday on the dirt in Rome are Hingis vs. Schiavone, Safina vs. Clijsters, Venus vs. Schnyder, Dementieva vs. Groenefeld, and an all-Russian showdown in Kuznetsova vs. Myskina.
