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Davenport opens with Pan Pacific Open win
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-04 09:07

Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport began her title defense in the Pan Pacific Open on Thursday, beating Japan's Saori Obata 6-4, 6-2 in a second-round match.


United States' Lindsay Davenport returns the ball against Japan's Shiori Obata during their second match of the Toray Pan Pacific Open at Tokyo gymnasium, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005. Davenport defeated Obata 6-4, 6-3.[AP]
Davenport, seeking her fifth Pan Pacific title, was playing her first singles match since losing to Serena Williams in the Australian Open final Saturday.

"I still feel a little worn down," Davenport said. "It was a great but demanding two weeks. I started to feel a bit better today but getting over a loss like that is probably the toughest thing you have to do."

Davenport relied on a strong serve and solid groundstrokes against Obata on the indoor carpet surface Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

"This is a difficult surface to get used to," Davenport said. "Getting broke twice in the first set was tough, but I started to serve well in the second set and that's the key on this surface."

Russians Elena Likhovtseva and Elena Dementieva also advanced. The third-seeded Likhovtseva beat American Jill Craybas 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, and the fourth-seeded Dementieva routed Japan's Akiko Morigami 6-2, 6-2

In other second-round matches, Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic downed Japan's Aiko Nakamura 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, while eighth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia recovered from a slow start to defeat Russia's Maria Kirilenko 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.

On Wednesday, Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova of Russia beat Maria Vento-Kabchi of Venezuela 7-6 (3), 6-0 in the second round. Sharapova will face Likhovtseva in the quarterfinals.



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