Bali, Indonesia - France cashed in on a pair of opening-day wins at the Bali Tournament of Champions on Wednesday, with top seed Marion Bartoli and Aravane Rezai claiming group victories.
Bartoli, who played the final at this tropical resort three years ago against Svetlana Kuznetsova when the event was a regular WTA season tournament, started her campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova.
Rezai earned the opening win for France at the 12-woman end-of-season event as she upset fourth seed Sabine Lisicki 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 despite eight aces from the German.
The field at the $600 000 tournament comprises the 10 highest ranking players who have won a WTA International title this year but who did not compete in the season-ending WTA Championships in Qatar, which finished on Sunday. Two wild cards are also included.
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| Yanina Wickmayer won a battle of the generations over 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm |
Belgian Yanina Wickmayer won a battle of the generations over 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
In the concluding match on the programme, Australian second seed Samantha Stosur, who has had only a day to get acclimatised after arriving Monday night from Doha, began her campaign with a match against Hungary's Agnes Szavay.
Bartoli won two titles this year that put her into the Bali field, taking wins at Monterey and Stanford.
The top seed secured her opening victory after losing serve only once and breaking three times, including in the penultimate game.
Bartoli improved to 47-21 this season.
| Date Krumm lost serve five times |
At 20 years of age, Wickmayer, a surprise US Open semi-finalist two months ago, is nearly two decades younger than her evergreen opponent Date Krumm, who at 39 is renewing her career after a decade-long pause.
The veteran Japanese who returned to the WTA in 2008 and claimed lower-level ITF titles in Tokyo and Monzon, Spain, in 2008, capped her comeback by winning Seoul in September to qualify for the Bali field.
Date Krumm lost serve five times as her European opponent took charge, never allowing the veteran a chance to turn the tide.
Wickmayer's victory in just over 90 minutes was her 55th of a breakthrough season in which she won both of her career titles.
Rezai, winner of the title at Strasbourg before Roland Garros, took 1 hour, 44 minutes to secure victory over Lisicki, one of the up and coming players on the circuit.
The Frenchwoman kept the pressure on the 20-year-old German, forcing her to save 11 of 14 break points. Rezai came through to victory despite seven double-faults. - AFP
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