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Top-seeded Clijsters falls in first match

INDIAN WELLS, Calif., March 8 (UPI) -- Nathalie Dechy of France recorded a stunning 6-2, 7-5 victory over No. 1 seed Kim Clijsters Friday at the Pacific Life Open.

Clijsters, the runner-up here a year ago, became the first top seed to lose her opening match at Indian Wells since the inaugural year of the hardcourt event.

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In 1989, top seed Chris Evert of the United States also received a first-round bye before falling to Hana Mandlikova of the former Czechoslovakia in the second round.

Clijsters, 18, reached the semifinals at Sydney and Melbourne in January. But she had not played since the Australian Open due to an injury in the upper part of her right arm.

In their only previous meeting, Clijsters rallied past Dechy to reach her second career WTA final at the 1999 Bratislava event.

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Dechy, 23, continues to shine in 2002. She advanced to the semifinals at Scottsdale last week and reached the quarterfinals at Canberra in January.

This is not her first upset of the year. Dechy also knocked off compatriot and 11th seed Sandrine Testud in the first round of the Australian Open.

Dechy will meet No. 28 Anastasia Myskina in the third round. The Russian overwhelmed American wild card Tara Snyder, 6-2, 6-3.

Justine Henin, Clijsters' Fed Cup teammate, struggled but got through her second-round match. The third seed from Belgium rallied past Maja Matevzic of Slovenia, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

The 19-year-old Henin, who lost to Clijsters in the second round here in 2001, still is looking for her first title of the year. She lost to Venus Williams in the finals at the Gold Coast and Antwerp tournaments during the first two months of 2002.

Henin's third-round opponent will be No. 30 Adriana Serra Zanetti. The Italian cruised past Paraguay's Rossana Neffa-De Los Rios, 6-3, 6-3.

The other top 16 seeds in action on Friday also advanced.

No. 7 Silvia Farina Elia of Italy outlasted Evie Dominikovic of Australia, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, and No. 8 Elena Dementieva of Russia overcame Amy Frazier of the United States, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.

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American Lisa Raymond, the 12th seed who captured last month's Memphis crown, outdueled compatriot Marissa Irvin, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, while Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn, the 14th seed, rolled over Germany's Jana Kandarr, 6-2, 6-3.

However, a pair of seeded Spaniards further down the ladder were eliminated.

Cara Black of Zimbabwe ousted No. 23 Cristina Torrens Valero, 6-4, 6-1, and Lilia Osterloh of the United States edged No. 29 Conchita Martinez, 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 7-5.

Two more Russian seeds moved into the third round. No. 24 Tatiana Panova posted a 6-2, 6-3 win over Miriam Oremans of the Netherlands and No. 27 Elena Likhovtseva tamed Jennifer Hopkins of the United States, 7-5, 6-0.

Another American did advance, however. Alexandra Stevenson, the 25th seed, won 11 of the final 13 games in her 6-2, 6-2 victory over Sandra Kleinova of the Czech Republic.

Also on Friday, No. 26 Anne Kremer of Luxembourg battled past Petra Mandula of Hungary, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; No. 31 Martina Sucha of Slovakia humbled Jana Nejedly of Canada, 6-3, 6-0; and No. 32 Nicole Pratt of Australia came back to beat Tina Pisnik of Slovenia, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

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