Seles victorious in three sets

Florida:

Monica Seles, playing her first match after a seven-week layoff, struggled to defeat Anca Barna of Germany 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 at the Bausch & Lomb Championships. This week was supposed to be an opportunity for the sixth-seeded Seles to play on the cushy, green clay at Amelia Island and see how her left foot would respond after a stress fracture in February. She almost withdrew, however, when she slept weird on her neck on Monday night and it seized up on her the next morning. She was able to play because the draw was favourable, and she didn't have her first match until Wednesday. "I really couldn't move it at all," Seles said on Wednesday. "I couldn't practice, nothing. It was one of those things where you're stuck. You can't look to the left or right". True to her word, she barely moved her neck during the winner's news conference. Before that, in the first set of her match, she needed a timeout for a trainer to come to the court and massage out some of the pain. Seles said she felt lucky to win that close tiebreaker and is glad she'll get some more chances to test the foot before the meat of the clay-court season begins. The French Open starts on May 26. Seles, who won here in 1999 and 2000, will next play a third round match against 10th-seeded Nathalie Dechy of France, who defeated Maria Vento-Kabchi of Venezuela 7-5, 4-6, 7-5. Top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium opened play on Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Dally Randriantefy of Madagascar. The week, however, got easier when Henin-Hardenne learned she'll get a bye in the third round because 14th-seeded Clarisa Fernandez withdrew with a sprained wrist. In other action, fifth-seeded Jelena Dokic of Serbia and Montenegro defeated Tina Pisnik of Slovenia 7-5, 5-7, 6-1; seventh-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland topped Maja Matevzic of Slovenia 6-1, 4-1, retired; ninth-seeded Meghann Shaughnessy of the United States beat Virginia Ruano-Pasqual of Spain 6-2, 6-3; 10th-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia downed countrywoman Lina Krasnoroustskaya 6-1, 7-5; and 15th-seeded Paola Suarez of Argentina beat Elena Likhovtseva of Russia 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. (AP)