Amelie Mauresmo continued her slow struggle back to form with a 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 victory over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in a first-round match at the Pilot Pen today.
"Overall it was a good fight," Mauresmo said. "It is always good to go out of these kinds of matches with a win. I am happy physically because I am fine coming out of this match."
The former No. 1 player and two-time grand slam champion dominated in the first set, but struggled with her serve in the second, losing in the tiebreak. She regained her dominance in the final set, though she finished with 12 double faults, six in the second set.
The 29-year-old Mauresmo has been hampered by rib muscle and thigh injuries. After Serena Williams defeated her in the third round at Wimbledon in June, where she won the championship in 2006, she did not play at all in July.
She did reach the semi-finals at Cincinnati a week before the Pilot Pen. But she said regaining rhythm and confidence was never easy after a long layoff.
"I am definitely thinking the body is not holding as well as it used to," Mauresmo said. "That's a fact and it is pretty frustrating, but that is the way it is."
Mauresmo ended last year ranked No. 17, but has since dropped to No. 33. Given the injuries to some of the top players today, Mauresmo feels she still has a chance to climb back into the higher rankings.
"This could be for me an opportunity to get back into the highest level," Mauresmo said. "It is going to be a matter of really taking the opportunities if they show up."
Her next opponent is fifth-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.
On the men's side, Germany's Mischa Zverev upset fifth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3 6-3 in a second-round match. Also, ninth-seeded Marc Gicquel of France defeated Albert Montanes of Spain 7-5 6-3 and 16th-seeded Victor Hanescu of Romania beat Denis Gremelmayr of Germany 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.
American Robby Ginepri defeated 12th-seeded Agustin Calleri 6-2 4-6 6-2, ending a five-match losing streak against Argentines.
