Bartoli Booted from Amelia Island; Petrova, Venus in Action TodayPosted on April 3, 2007 AMELIA ISLAND, FL, USA - It was not a perfect start for the seeds as the first round began at the Bausch & Lomb Championships on Monday. The highest seed in action and a clay court queen were among the favorites who fell, while a few players who have shown an improved level in recent weeks were able to win their openers at the Tier II event. Marion Bartoli and Anabel Medina Garrigues were the first seeded players to fall. Bartoli, the No.10 seed, was sent home fairly easily in straight sets by Eleni Daniilidou, 60 64, while the No.14-seeded Medina Garrigues fell to Slovak wildcard Dominika Cibulkova in a tighter two set score line, 76(4) 62. Although Bartoli's loss seems more unlikely on paper, Medina Garrigues may have had loftier expectations coming in; the Spaniard has won four of her five career titles at clay court events, while Bartoli's three titles have all come on hardcourt. A handful of players who fared well at Indian Wells and Miami in March started their Amelia Island weeks with wins. No.13 seed Sybille Bammer, a semifinalist at Indian Wells, was a 63 61 winner over Tamarine Tanasugarn; Mara Santangelo, who notched her first Top 10 win over Jelena Jankovic en route to the Miami fourth round, rallied by Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 57 63 64; and Vera Dushevina, who also reached the fourth round of Miami, beat Nicole Pratt, 61 75. Other winners on the first day were No.11 seed Katarina Srebotnik, No.15 seed Zheng Jie, No.16 seed Alona Bondarenko, No.17 seed Martina Müller, unseeded players Meilen Tu, Nuria Llagostera Vives, Catalina Castaño, Michaella Krajicek, Kaia Kanepi, Julia Vakulenko, Karolina Sprem and Yaroslava Shvedova. Another winner was Virginie Razzano, who beat American Vania King, 63 64. The Frenchwoman has very fond memories of the Bausch & Lomb Championships; two years back she reached the semifinals here, her first semifinal appearance at an event this size, beating Top 10 players Alicia Molik and Vera Zvonareva in straight sets along the way. Several of the Top 8 seeds will play their opening matches on Tuesday, including top seed and defending champion Nadia Petrova, as well as Daniela Hantuchova and Dinara Safina. An unseeded former champion is also on the schedule - Venus Williams will try to regain this tournament's crown this week, beginning with a first round duel against Aravane Rezai. (WTA) |
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