ANTWERP (Belgium), Feb 12: Elke Clijsters put up a brave fight for Belgium’s premier tennis family on Monday, before falling in the first round of the $585,000 Antwerp WTA tournament to Patty Schnyder.

Elke was left to represent the Clijsters family on her own at the new Tier II tournament — the first to be held in Belgium — when her elder sister and world number five Kim Clijsters withdrew last Friday with a stress fracture to her right arm.

She fought well at the Sportspaleis Antwerpen but was too inexperienced against the Swiss Schnyder who was once ranked as high as number eight in the world.

Clijsters, the Belgian number eight and ranked just 773rd in the world, dropped the opening set 6-3 but pushed the 42nd-ranked Schnyder much harder in the second set, only losing it on a tiebreak.

Schnyder faces Jelena Dokic in the next round after the Yugoslav was given a bye into the second round.

There are question marks over Dokic’s fitness, though, after she pulled out of the final of the Paris Open on Sunday with a thigh injury handing Venus Williams the title.

Dokic is being treated with anti-inflammatories and said on Sunday she hopes to be fit to play in Antwerp.

In other action, eighth-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova beat Spain’s Cristina Torrens Valero 6-3 6-2 while Daja Bedanova of the Czech Republic beat America’s Lilia Osterloh in a titanic tussle 6-7 6-4 7-6.

Sixth seed Magdalena Maleeva had things much easier, the Bulgarian coasting past Slovakia’s Martina Sucha 6-1 6-1.

Tuesday’s action will see Russia’s Anna Kournikova take on German Marlene Weingartner in the opening round.

First round results:

8-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) beat Cristina Torrens Valero (Spain) 6-3 6-2; Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) beat Elke Clijsters (Belgium) 6-3 7-6 (7-5); Daja Bedanova (Czech Republic) beat Lilia Osterloh (U.S.) 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-5); 6-Magdalena Maleeva (Bulgaria) beat Martina Sucha (Slovakia) 6-1 6-1

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