Upsets mark first round at Hobart

HOBART, Australia, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Flavia Pennetta and Maria Kirilenko, top four seeds, dropped first-round matches Monday in the Moorilla Hobart International tennis tournament in Australia.

Pennetta, an Italian seeded third, was ousted by Japanese player Aiko Nakamura, 7-5, 7-5, while Kirilenko, from Russia, dropped a 6-4, 6-4 decision to Indian Sania Mirza.

In another upset, eighth-seeded German Martina Muller lost, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, to Czech Lucie Safarova.

Second-seeded Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues escaped the upset bug and posted a 6-1, 6-3 win over Russian Elena Vesnina. Unseeded Serena Williams, once ranked No. 1 and now No. 95, was an easy 6-4, 6-0 winner over Swede Sofia Arvidsson in her first-round match.

Fifth-seeded Mara Santangelo topped fellow Italian Maria Elena Camerin 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, sixth-seeded Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko beat Australian Jessica Moore, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), and seventh-seeded Chinese Jie Zheng drilled France's Stephanie Foretz, 6-2, 6-2.

First-round wins also came for France's Severine Bremond, Italian Romina Oprandi, Aussie Alicia Molik, Colombian Catalina Castano, Russian Vasilisa Bardina and Austrian Sybille Bammer.

The $145,000 Moorilla Hobart International continues through Saturday.