ROME, May 9 (UPI) -- Ninth-seeded Marion Bartoli rolled to a first-round victory Monday at the BNL International tennis tournament in Rome.
Bartoli is the highest seeded player to not receive a first-round bye but was solid in a 6-2, 6-3 in over Arantxa Parra Santonja. Bartoli is 2-0 lifetime versus Parra Santonja although it's been 10 years since they last met.
Bartoli saved one of the two break points she faced but had Parra Santonja on the defensive throughout the match, forcing 19 break-point situations and converting five of them.
No. 13-seeded Ana Ivanovic was up 6-0, 3-0 when Nadia Petrova retired but Greta Arn claimed a pair of tie-breakers in taking out 11th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (11-9). No other seeded players were on Monday's 15-match schedule.
Among the other winners were qualifiers Anabel Medina Garrigues, who defeated Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-2; Polona Hercog, who advanced over Alexandra Dulgheru 6-1, 7-5; and Christina McHale, who got past Peng Shuai 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (9-7).
Jarmila Gajdosova and Iveta Benesova each only lost three games en route to the second round. Gajdosova was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Corinna Dentoni and Benesova beat Gisela Dulko 6-2, 6-1. Vera Dushevina, despite dropping serve twice, needed only 79 minutes to get past Ayumi Morita 6-3, 6-1and Alisa Kleybanova topped Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 6-2.
Other winners Monday were Yanina Wickmayer, Ekaterina Makarova, Elena Vesnina, Lourdes Dominguez Lino and Daniela Hantuchova.
