SYDNEY, Australia - The Medibank International Sydney kicked off on Sunday, with seeded players Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva making winning starts to the first Premier tournament of the season.
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Kuznetsova, the No.3 seed, came out firing but would eventually have to battle back from behind against Alisa Kleybanova, rallying from 3-0 down in the third set to beat her fellow Russian, 62 67(3) 75. Kuznetsova improved to 2-0 lifetime against Kleybanova, having won their only prior meeting at Miami last year.
"In the second set Alisa started to play better and serve better, and I wasn't doing enough. That was my mistake," Kuznetsova said. "In the third set I pushed back when I needed to and played well on the important points."
Dementieva, the No.5 seed, advanced in straight sets but not without a fight, downing Francesca Schiavone, 62 75. Dementieva built a 62 42 lead but Schiavone took three games in a row; Dementieva regrouped however, winning 12 of the next 15 points to close the match out. Dementieva beat the Italian for the third time in a row and improved to 6-4 lifetime against her.
"We're all looking forward to some tough matches against the other top players here," said Dementieva, the defending champion in Sydney. "We all worked hard during the off-season but there's nothing like real competition."
Last year, Dementieva's five wins in Sydney were part of a 15-match winning streak to start the season - she went 5-0 to win Auckland the week before and 5-0 to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open, where the run ended.
"Last year I was planning to come to Auckland and Sydney and play a couple of matches to get ready for the Australian; when I was in the semifinals I thought I had played too much," added the Russian, who lost to Serena Williams. "This time I changed a little bit, playing Hopman Cup and now Sydney."
Check out photos from Sydney in the Sydney Gallery!
In the first match of the day, Daniela Hantuchova needed an hour and five minutes to beat Virginie Razzano, 63 60. It was somewhat of an upset on paper, Hantuchova ranked No.24 and Razzano No.19; they had split six prior meetings, Hantuchova winning the first three and Razzano the last three.
Agnes Szavay, Vera Dushevina, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Kimiko Date Krumm, Jill Craybas and Varvara Lepchenko all won qualifying matches to reach the main draw. Timea Bacsinszky, who lost to Lepchenko, got a main draw berth as a lucky loser after Justine Henin pulled out with a gluteal strain.
