LINZ, Austria - Flavia Pennetta made a scintillating start to her Generali Ladies Linz campaign Tuesday, routing Meghann Shaughnessy, 61 61, in the first round of the International-level tournament.

Pennetta, seeded No.1 this week, lost the first game of the match at love on Shaughnessy's serve but barely looked back from there, winning 12 of the next 13 games - and holding four game points in the only game she didn't win.

"The first round is tough. You need to get used to the conditions," Pennetta said. "Meghann is a good player. She was really good but has been out with injuries. I played really consistently. I could have been more aggressive; it's tough because the court is slow and the balls are heavy, but I'll work on that."

Check out the photo gallery and Yanina Wickmayer's blog from Linz.

The other seeds in action were almost all winners, with No.5 seed Iveta Benesova, No.7 seed Lucie Safarova and No.8 seed Sara Errani all moving through in straight sets. No.6 seed Sorana Cirstea was the only casualty, losing to qualifier Julia Goerges in straight sets, 63 63.

"I'm happy I won this match and beat such a good player, and I hope I can continue like this," Goerges said. "It was good to have some matches from before, to get used to the surface. I love hardcourts, indoor or outdoor, and I really enjoy these ones. It's also nice to be here in Austria where everybody speaks German and they support me. It helps a lot."

In matches between unseeded competitors, Anna-Lena Groenfeld, Olga Govortsova and Tatjana Malek all secured wins.

One of Austria's brightest young stars, Tamira Paszek, has been out of action since Wimbledon with a back injury. Practicing again right here this week, she gave a press conference at her home tournament on Tuesday afternoon.

"After needing to take two-and-a-half months off tennis because of a slipped disc in my back, I'm finally starting to play again. I wanted to start hitting at Linz, using some hitting partners here. My goal is to return to tennis in Australia early next year. The past is the past, and I see this as a chance to make a fresh start. I'm so thankful to my family, my boyfriend and my friends who have supported me in this time; it wouldn't have been possible without them."