SportsLine wire reports

LONDON -- An inconsistent Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario had to fight long and hard to beat debutante Hungarian Anna Maria Foldenyi 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the women's singles at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

Sanchez-Vicario, twice a finalist here and seeded seventh, eventually outgunned Foldenyi in the baseline duel but she never looked impressive and was frequently outhit by her opponent.

The Spaniard raced to a 4-2 lead in the first set but the Hungarian broke her serve twice to take the set. In the second set Foldenyi was 2-0 up but the infinitely more experienced Sanchez-Vicario then won the next five games, lost her serve and finally put the set away.

Neither player held serve in the first four games of the final set, but Sanchez-Vicario broke Foldenyi's serve in the final game to seal victory. She last lost in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament in 1990.

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