Vaidisova, Ivanonvic Winners in Rainy Sydney

Vaidisova, seeded No.8 at the Tier II event, cruised early and remained tough in the end for a 61 64 victory over Daniela Hantuchova. The Czech phenom made quick work of her opponent in the first set, dropping only 13 points, but the Slovak kept it much tighter in the second, winning only two fewer points than Vaidisova (27-25). Vaidisova is now 3-0 lifetime against Hantuchova.

Other first round winners in the singles draw were Ana Ivanovic, who defeated Australian wild card Casey Dellacqua, 63 64; Li Na, who dismissed last year's finalist, Francesca Schiavone, 64 75; and Shahar Peer, who defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 64 62.

Raymond and Stosur were the top-seeded tandem in the Sydney draw, but weren't on their games in their season debut, falling in straight sets, 64 75, to the unseeded pairing of Emilie Loit and Nicole Pratt. Loit and Pratt have claimed three Sony Ericsson WTA Tour doubles titles as a team, at 2003 Shanghai, 2005 Prague and 2006 Hobart; they have now taken a giant step towards their fourth.

Winning through to the main draw from the qualifying rounds were Ai Sugiyama, Peng Shuai, Vera Dushevina and Yuliana Fedak.

More seeds grace the court on Monday, namely No.5 Martina Hingis, No.6 Elena Dementieva and No.7 Patty Schnyder. The four highest seeds all received first round byes and will make their first appearances no earlier than Tuesday.