STUTTGART, Germany - The first round wrapped up with no surprises but there were certainly some shockers as the second round began at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, as both seeds who took the court - Svetlana Kuznetsova and Agnieszka Radwanska - were sent packing by unseeded players.
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Radwanska, seeded No.5, was the first to fall in one of the earlier matches of the day, losing to Shahar Peer, 63 67(4) 62. Peer actually had match point at 63 65 but needed a third set - a quick one, at that - to put the Pole away.
"I'm happy I managed to come back and cruise in the third set," Peer said. "Agnieszka has been in the top for a while and I'm really happy with this win."
Kuznetsova, the No.3 seed and defending champion, followed Radwanska to the sidelines in the last match of the day, losing to Li Na, 63 75. Like Peer, Li held match point at 63 65, three match points in fact; but the Chinese, unlike the Israeli, put it away in straights. She is now 3-6 lifetime against the Russian.
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No.4 seed Jelena Jankovic, No.6 seed Victoria Azarenka, No.7 seed Sam Stosur, No.8 seed Yanina Wickmayer and unseeded players Justine Henin and Lucie Safarova all won first round matches at the Premier-level event.
Henin had the most intriguing win of the bunch, rallying from triple set point down at 5-6 in the first set to beat Germany's own Julie Goerges, 76(3) 61.
"She was on fire in the first set and serving really well," Henin said. "I just tried to remember how I've been playing, staying aggressive, and it started going better. It's always nice to play at home so I think she was feeling good today. She's really good and I'm happy I was able to win today."
Jankovic beat tricky clay courter Gisela Dulko, South America's No.1 player, 62 62. Jankovic had lost to Dulko before. "I thought I did well for my first match here," the Serb told the press afterwards. "Dulko is a tough opponent, especially on clay. I played well in the first set; I had some ups and downs in the second set and I lost my concentration at times, but overall it was good."
The rest of the second round takes place at the Porsche Arena Thursday. Among those in action is Dinara Safina, who plays her first match since the Aussie Open. Find out what Dinara had to say at All-Access Hour.


