Li bounced out in the first round
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Third-seeded Li Na of China and fifth-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy were eliminated in the first round of the Kremlin Cup on Tuesday in Moscow, Russia.
The 11th-ranked Li lost 6-4, 6-2 to 2006 champion Anna Chakvetadze, while Pennetta fell to another Russian, Elena Vesnina, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
In the men's first round, fifth-seeded Radek Stepanek beat Victor Hanescu of Romania 7-6 (5), 6-3. In a tight match, the 37th-ranked Czech prevailed after a first-set tiebreaker and broke decisively in the eighth game of the second set to serve the match out.
Sixth-seeded Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan also advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina.
Chakvetadze broke twice in the first set for a 5-2 lead. Li, who managed to put in only 30 percent of her first serves in the first set, narrowed the gap to 5-4 but Chakvetadze saved four break points in the next game before clinching the set. Chakvetadze dominated the second set, breaking Li twice.
"I wasn't favorite for the match," Chakvetadze said. "I played free and easily. I'm happy I've made it."
Li said she "wasn't feeling so good on the court" but could not explain why.
"I can't come up with an explanation, unfortunately I just lost today," she said.
Li entered the event on a wild card, hoping to strengthen her position as the first reserve player for next week's WTA Tour Championships in Doha. The loss could hamper her chances of a maiden appearance at the event.
"I think Doha was playing on my mind, so I was nervous," Li said. "I'm feeling pretty disappointed right now. I just have to wait and see what happens, it's not in my hands anymore."
Li is just five points ahead of Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who is seeded second at the Kremlin Cup and has a first-round bye. Whoever of the two fares better in Moscow will be required to replace Serena Williams in Doha.
In Stockholm. Sweden, James Blake made it to the second round of the Stockholm Open after coming from behind to beat seventh-seeded Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday.
Bellucci twice broke an error-prone Blake to take the first set. Wild card Blake found his rhythm in the second, breaking Bellucci in the fifth game and holding serve.
American Blake, who won the Stockholm Open in 2005 and 2006, eventually prevailed after breaking Bellucci in the ninth game of a closely-fought final set.
"It was really tough for me getting used to his serve," Blake said. "But once I did I felt really comfortable."
It was a disappointing day for Spain's seeded players, with Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez both losing.
Germany's Florian Mayer brushed aside sixth-seeded Lopez in only 55 minutes 6-2, 6-2. Mayer broke Lopez in the very first game and three more times in the match in a dominant performance.
"Everything went perfect," said Mayer. "I got an early break today so he never got into the match."
Eighth-seeded Robredo was swept by Croatian qualifier Ivan Dodig 6-3, 6-2, in little more than an hour.
Taylor Dent of the United States will face top-seeded Roger Federer in the second round, after Poland's Michal Przysiezny had to retire from their match with an ankle injury. Dent was leading 6-2.
Germany's Benjamin Becker beat Thomas Schoorel of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-0, to set up a second round match against Sweden's Robin Soderling.
In Luxembourg, top-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia defeated China's Peng Shuai 7-5, 7-6 (3) to reach the second round of the Luxembourg Open.
Second-seeded Aravane Rezai of France beat Germany's Mona Barthel 6-4, 6-4 to advance. In other action, fifth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia beat Jill Craybas of the United States 7-5, 6-1 and Julia Goerges of Germany swept past home player Mandy Minella 6-4, 6-3.
Read more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=452247&type=Sports#ixzz12yBWjTRw
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