COLLEGE PARK, MD, USA - Only two seeds were in action on the first day of main draw play at the inaugural Citi Open on a rainy Monday.

No.6 seed Elena Baltacha's straight set win over Yaroslava Shvedova was hardly routine, as she had 14 break points against her but saved 13 of them while converting on three of six chances on the Kazakh's serve. The 62 76(5) victory was Baltacha's third in five encounters with Shvedova.

"I felt I played a good, solid match," said Baltacha, the world's top-ranked Brit at No.57. "She stepped it up in the second set and made me work very hard. But I stayed strong mentally and am really happy to be through to the next round."

Next up for Baltacha is Virginie Razzano, a 62 62 winner over wildcard Misaki Doi. "I haven't played Razzano in a long time," said Baltacha, who is 1-2 against the Frenchwoman. "I know it's going to be a tough match, but I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge."

Another Brit, Heather Watson, also advanced with a 64 61 defeat of Eleni Daniilidou to set up a second round clash with Stéphanie Dubois. The Canadian upset seventh-seeded Sania Mirza, 75 64, Dubois' second win in three tries against the Indian and her second WTA main draw match win all year. In a battle of Americans, Varvara Lepchenko outlasted 18-year-old Sloane Stephens, 46 64 63, despite letting a 4-2 first set lead slip away.

Petra Rampre, Madison Brengle, Ryoko Fuda and Alexandra Mueller all secured main draw berths with wins in the final round of qualifying.