Chakvetadze Falls Early; Hantuchova Cruises On

Overall it was a great day for the seeds at the FORTIS Championships Luxembourg on Wednesday but for one in particular it was not peachy, as first round action wrapped up and the second round began at the Tier III event.
 
For the sixth time in her last six events, Anna Chakvetadze wasn't able to win back-to-back matches, falling in her second round match to Iveta Benesova on Wednesday afternoon, 62 64. Chakvetadze had lost first round in four of her last five events, her only win coming at Beijing - coincidentally, against Benesova. As the No.2 seed this week, Chakvetadze made a strong start by beating Mathilde Johansson in the first round, but was not able to continue that momentum in her second round match.
 
Benesova, currently ranked No.42 in the world, moved into her seventh Sony Ericsson WTA Tour quarterfinal of the season, a series of impressive runs that includes reaching the final of Estoril and the semifinals of Forest Hills. Her win over the No.12-ranked Chakvetadze was her third Top 20 win of the year, after previous victories against Shahar Peer and Nicole Vaidisova.
 
The other seeds in second round action were straight set winners. No.3 seed Daniela Hantuchova routed Sabine Lisicki, 60 62; No.4 seed Caroline Wozniacki beat Peng Shuai, 64 64; No.6 seed Li Na rallied from quadruple set point in the first set tie-break to defeat Mariya Koryttseva in an entertaining straight-setter, 76(6) 63; and No.8 seed Sorana Cirstea dismissed Sara Errani, 64 62.
 
The last three first round matches were also played. No.7 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues beat doubles partner Virginia Ruano Pascual, 62 61; Anna-Lena Groenefeld rallied from 5-1 down in the opening set to beat wildcard Yanina Wickmayer, 75 64; and in the last singles match of the day, No.5 seed Amélie Mauresmo faced qualifier Stephanie Gehrlein, storming back from losing the second set to win, 62 36 60.

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