CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Former top-10 player Vera Zvonareva temporarily stalled rising fellow Russian Elena Vesnina 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the first round of the Family Circle Cup on Monday.
Zvonareva, who peaked at No. 9 in 2004, has slipped to 47th. Despite reaching the final of her first tournament in Auckland in January, her match record was only 7-8. Next she'll play another compatriot, seventh-seeded Dinara Safina.
Vesnina was one more Russian on the up at 19. She was at a career-high 64th ranking after wins over top-20 players Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone in the past two weeks. Her service let her down on Monday; she won less than half of her first serves.
It was a similar theme for 13th-seeded Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden, who lost 7-5, 6-3 to Kristina Brandi of Puerto Rico. Brandi had gone six tournaments without a win since January.
No. 14-seeded Lucie Safarova came from a set down to beat Samantha Stosur of Australia 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 and remain on course for a third-round showdown with Nadia Petrova, who beat the Czech teenager in last week's semifinals at Amelia Island.
Italy's Mara Santangelo, seeded 16th, broke France's Stephanie Foretz three times and saved all five break points she faced en route to a 6-2, 6-4 win.
Sybille Bammer of Austria beat Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-1 and will play top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne in the second round. Henin-Hardenne, having a first-round bye, was 11-0 in Charleston after winning the title in 2003 and 2005.
Also, Neha Uberoi served 11 aces and 12 double faults in beating fellow American Lisa Raymond 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, Bogota champion Lourdes Dominguez Lino defeated Ukraine's Viktoriya Kutuzova 6-3, 7-5, and Ukrainian qualifier Alona Bondarenko defeated Russian Ekaterina Bychkova 6-1, 7-5 to line up a match with Petrova, who won the Amelia Island title on Sunday.
