SYDNEY, Australia -- French Open runner-up Samantha Stosur of Australia was a first-round winner, while French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic came up losers Monday at the Sydney International tennis event, a final Australian Open tuneup.
The fourth-seeded Stosur never faced a break point and beat last week's Auckland runner-up Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 7-5, 6-4 on the hardcourts at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre.
The big-serving Stosur's second-round opponent will be two-time major titlist Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2008 Sydney runner-up.
Meanwhile, a fifth-seeded Schiavone succumbed to Russian Alisa Kleybanova 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-2 and a sixth-seeded Jankovic was ousted by France's Aravane Rezai 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 on Day 2 here.
Two other seeds avoided upsets, as No. 7 Belarusian Victoria Azarenka overcame Russian qualifier Ekaterina Makarova 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 and No. 8 Chinese Li Na leveled Aussie Anastasia Rodionova 6-1, 6-2.
Former top-10 Russian Nadia Petrova gave way to Czech qualifier Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 6-2.
Several other women posted first-round wins, including French qualifier Virginie Razzano, Italian Flavia Pennetta, Israeli Shahar Peer and Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova, who drubbed Russian glamour girl Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-3.
Also on Tuesday, world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki will battle Cibulkova, second- seeded U.S. Open and Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva will tangle with Pennetta and third-seeded U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters will be opposed by Zahlavova Strycova.
The former No. 1 Clijsters is a two-time Sydney champion (2003, 2007).
