BERLIN, May 10: World number one Amelie Mauresmo swept aside Vera Dushevina 6-1 6-2 in her opening match at the German Open on Wednesday.
Top-seed Mauresmo, who won on the clay here in 2001 and 2004, overpowered the 19-year-old Muscovite and faces Anna Chakvetadze, another Russian, in the third round as she gears up for the French Open later this month.
As a seeded player, Mauresmo had gone straight into the tournament's second round and she said she was satisfied with her performance considering it was still early in the clay-court season.
The 26-year-old Frenchwoman is on course to play a resurgent Martina Hingis in the quarter-finals. The Swiss former world number one eased through her second-round match 6-4 6-3 against Germany's Julia Schruff.
Hingis, the 1999 winner here, was forced out of the game in 2002 due to foot injuries and burnout. She launched her comeback in January and has since risen to number 23 in the world.
Hingis will take on Elena Dementieva in the third round. The Russian world number eight thrashed Hingis 6-2 6-0 earlier this year in Tokyo and the Swiss said she had nothing to lose.
Results (second round):
Women's singles: Jie Zheng (China) beat Anne Kremer (Luxembourg) 7-6(4) 6-3; 1-Amelie Mauresmo (France) beat Vera Dushevina (Russia) 6-1 6-2; 2-Nadia Petrova (Russia) beat Vera Zvonareva (Russia) 6-1 7-6(3); Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) beat 16-Anabel Medina (Spain) 6-3 6-4; Martina Hingis (Switzerland) beat Julia Schruff (Germany) 6-4 6-3; 15-Maria Kirilenko (Russia) beat Klara Koukalova (Czech Republic) 6-4 6-3; Sybille Bammer (Austria) beat Laura Pous (Spain) 6-4 4-6 7-5; 6-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Martina Mueller (Germany) 6-3 3-6 6-0; Catalina Castano (Colombia) beat 7-Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Germany) 6-3 2-6 6-3; Na Li (China) beat Nathalie Vierin (Italy) 6-1 6-2; 10-Dinara Safina (Russia) beat Kveta Peschke (Czech Republic) 6-3 6-1; 5-Elena Dementieva (Russia) beat Julia Vakulenko (Ukraine) 6-2 3-0 (Vakulenko re tired)