INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Iva Majoli, who has struggled ever
since winning the l997 French Open, cruised to a first-round
victory Wednesday in the Tennis Masters Series-Indian Wells.
In another match, Sara Pitkowski of France ousted Alexandra
Stevenson 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Stevenson served at 4-2 in the third set before Pitkowski won
the final four games to advance to the second round of the
hard-court tournament.
Majoli needed only 69 minutes to dispose of Marlene Weingartner
of Germany 6-4, 6-2.
"It's always hard to win the first match. It's always the
toughest one," said Majoli, who has returned to the court after
undergoing surgery on her right shoulder. "I'm playing Lisa
Raymond next. It isn't easy. I hope I can get past that one."
In another early first-round match, Germany's Barbara Rittner
defeated South Africa's Mariaan de Swardt 6-1, 6-2.
Stevenson said she "rushed too much. I gave it away. If I hold
my serve, I win the match."
Pitkowski saw it differently.
"I think that I push her to make the mistake," Pitkowski said.
"Maybe she didn't realize that I was more focused and more
concentrated to make her play one shot more than she did in the
first set. I maybe push her a little bit."
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Wednesday's results
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