September 18, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 17, 1429

TOKYO, Sept 17: Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo squandered four match points before falling 0-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10/8) to Dominika Cibulkova in round one of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament here on Tuesday.

The unseeded double Grand Slam-winner twice came back from a break down in the final set to lead 5-4 but miscued on each of three match points in the 10th game.

Mauresmo, from France, went 4-1 up in the tie-breaker but survived one match point against her at 5-6 after Cibulkova missed an easy forehand.

Mauresmo hit a return wide on her last match point and then Cibulkova fired a sizzling passing shot to take a 9-8 lead. The match ended abruptly when Mauresmo hit an overhead shot long.

“It’s always definitely frustrating to lose a match when you are having match points,” said the 2006 Wimbledon and Australian Open champion from France.

“In the second set, I let myself down a little bit... letting her get back into the match,” she added.

Despite advancing Cibulkova, from Slovakia and ranked 21st in the world — two places above Mauresmo — was disappointed with her performance.

“I wasn’t playing very well from the beginning until the end,” she said.

“I don’t know, I was just feeling very tired because I came here the day before yesterday, and I just didn’t feel comfortable.

“I saved four match points. The match was really close in the third set. If I could have been playing better, I would have closed it earlier in the third set. But I just fought and I just won this match,” she added.

Two seeds were eliminated Tuesday with seventh-ranked Daniela Hantuchova losing to Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 7-5 and eighth seed Anna Chakvetadze of Russia losing to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

In other first-round action, sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska strolled past Japanese wildcard Aiko Nakamura 6-1, 6-4, while Marion Bartoli of France defeated Russia’s Maria Kirilenko of Russia 6-2, 6-2.

Another Japanese wildcard, Ayumi Morita, edged past Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-7 (7/9), 7-5, 6-4, while France’s Alize Cornet saw off Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Flavia Pennetta of Italy was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Israel’s Shahar Peer.

Results:

Francesca Schiavone (Italy) bt 7-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-1, 7-5; Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) bt 8-Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Flavia Pennetta (Italy) bt Shahar Peer (Israel) 6-4, 6-4; Alize Cornet (France) bt Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) bt Amelie Mauresmo (France) 0-6, 6-1, 7-6(8); Ayumi Morita (Japan) bt Agnes Szavay (Hungary) 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-4; Marion Bartoli (France) bt Maria Kirilenko (Russia) 6-2, 6-2; 6-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) bt Aiko Nakamura (Japan) 6-1, 6-4.—Agencies