Hantuchova Upsets Schnyder, Vaidisova Loses at Zurich

"I arrived late from Moscow," said world No.8 Schnyder, "and only had half an hour practice on centre court. That's definitely not enough. My timing was way off today. I was hoping, if I could win this one, I could play myself into the tournament, but now I'm out. To her credit, she played very well. She is one of my most difficult opponents."

Schnyder, who won the title here four years ago and made the final last year, entered the week with high expectations. After her run to the Kremlin Cup quarterfinals last week, she returned to her home country, knowing she had a tough match ahead of her. Hantuchova had beaten her in three of the last four meetings, including earlier this year at Sydney. The Slovak also entered the Tier I event here with new confidence. She upset Dinara Safina two weeks ago in Stuttgart en route to her first quarterfinal since January. Up next is doubles partner Ai Sugiyama, who ousted Marion Bartoli, 63 46 61.

Teenager Nicole Vaidisova could not handle an in-form Tatiana Golovin on Tuesday. Seeded No.7 here, the Czech was routed, 62 60, by the Frenchwoman, who just reached her biggest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour final this month at Stuttgart. Golovin's second round opponent is Maria Kirilenko, a 64 76(4) victor over wild card Emmanuelle Gagliardi.

"Tatiana played great," Vaidisova said. "I just couldn't find my rhythm today. Unfortunately, some days are like that. I hope for better results in my next tournament (Linz)."

No.8 Francesca Schiavone wasted no time in her 62 61 win over American qualifier Meilen Tu. The Italian, who just cracked the Top 10 in doubles after winning the Kremlin Cup, faces another qualifier in the second round, Swiss teenager Timea Bacsinszky.

Other Tuesday winners were Shahar Peer, Jelena Jankovic, Nathalie Dechy and Samantha Stosur. On Wednesday, top seed Amelie Mauresmo takes on Stosur and No.5 Hingis returns to action against Dechy.
-- WTA