MELBOURNE, Australia -- Still without a singles title since turning professional in 1995, Anna Kournikova won her opening round match on Monday at the Australian Open and put to rest the rumor that she got a tattoo on the small of her back and was covering it up with a bandage.

	The patch on the back of Anna Kournikova does not hide a tattoo, she says.

"I've been wearing a heat patch for about two years now," Kournikova said. "I have a chronic back pain. It just happens to be that my skirt is pretty low right now, and everybody sees the patch."

Kournikova won a Grand Slam singles match for the first time in two years, beating Slovakia's Henrieta Nagyova 6-1, 6-2. But the Russian ended up answering questions about reports that she was covering up body art with a bandage.

"I just have a heat patch," she said, referring to patches she has worn at the base of her spine the last two years.

Kournikova, coming back from foot and ankle injuries, plays fifth-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne in the second round.

On past visits to Australia, Kournikova has been photographed swimming with dolphins and visiting Melbourne's zoo. She bristled when asked if she would do so again.

"I'm here to play," she said.