Pierce at top of her game

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, APRIL 20. Mary Pierce was at the top of her game in her opening match of the Hilton Head Island women's tennis tournament as she overpowered Spain's Gala Leon Garcia 6- 1, 6-1 in 47 minutes.

``I played pretty good,'' Pierce, the million-dollar clay-court tournament's top seed, said on Wednesday with a large dose of understatement.

With only a small crowd on hand for the first match of the morning, Pierce began pounding winners from the start. She stroked the ball so cleanly and with so much power that Garcia often was unable to even make a move toward Pierce's bullets down the lines or to the corners.

Pierce blasted winning groundstrokes from both wings, especially effective from the backhand side as she drove the ball cross court within inches of the line.

Second seed Conchita Martinez of Spain, a former two-time champion here, survived a mild scare to defeat fellow Spaniard Magui Serna 7-6 (9-7), 6-1.

Former champion and fourth seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain demonstrated that she also could be a contender by rallying from 4-0 and 5-2 deficits in the second set to eliminate compatriot Paola Suarez 6-3, 7-5 in another second- round match.

Two seeded players were eliminated. Canadian Jana Nejedly ousted fifth-seeded Barbara Schett of Austria 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 while Anna Smashnova of Israel eliminated 14th-seeded American Corina Morariu 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.

lThe results: Mary Pierce bt Gala Leon Garcia 6-1, 6-1; Conchita Martinez bt Magui Serna 7-6 (9-7), 6-1; Arantxa Sanchez Vicario bt Paola Suarez 6-3, 7-5; Jana Nejedly bt Barbara Schett 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2; Anna Smashnova bt Corina Morariu 7-5, 3-6, 6-2; Amy Frazier bt Brie Rippner 7-6 (7-2), 7-5; Amanda Coetzer of bt Alina Jidkova 6-2, 3-6, 6-1; Elena Likhovtseva bt Holly Parkinson 6-0, 6-0.

- Reuters & AFP

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