China's Yan Zi ang Peng Shuai were both ousted from the Italian Open women's singles first round on Monday, as all seeds made it through.
Yan, a 23-year-old doubles specialist, currently ranked 41st on the WTA Tour standings, was made light work 6-1, 6-1 by Hungarian 11th seed Agnes Szavay, while qualifier Peng lost to wild card Sara Errani 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
There's split fortunes for two players competing in their first Tour events of the year.
Australian Samantha Stosur, who hadn't played a Tour event since last year's U.S. Open, beat Michaella Krajieck 6-3, 6-2, while home wildcard Mara Santangelo, having not played since the Fed Cup Final last September, lost to Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko 6-2, 6-2.
Stosur set up a second-round encounter with seven-seeded Venus Williams when the American six-time grand slam champion returns this week after more than a month out of action due to an unspecified medical problem.
Bondarenko will next face fifth seed Serena Williams, who like her sister Venus is a former Italian Open champion.
Russian 10th seed Vera Zvonareva stayed on course to meet Venus Williams in the third round by beating Japan's Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3.
Her compatriot Dinara Safina, who won the German Open on Sunday and was defeated in the Rome final by Martina Hingis in 2006, has pulled out of the tournament with a back injury, organizers said. Her place has gone to Austria's Sybille Bammer.
Third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, another Russian, will meet Belarusian Olga Govortsova, who rallied to beat Italy's Karin Knapp 4-6 6-1 6-2.
Big names like Russian world number two Maria Sharapova, top seed Ana Ivanovic and both Williams sisters have byes to the second round and make their first appearances of the week on Tuesday.
Source: Xinhua
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