August 16, 2005 Amelie, Serena Makes Winning Returns in Toronto TORONTO - Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams hadn't played a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour match since Wimbledon, but that didn't prevent either player from reaching the third round on Tuesday at the Rogers Cup presented by American Express. Mauresmo, who captured the Rogers Cup last year when the event was contested in Montreal, got off to a good start in her debut at the Rexall Centre, defeating Dally Randriantefy, 62 63. The No.2 seed, who said she took two weeks completely off after Fed Cup, spending time at the beach and enjoying herself, said it took a while to get comfortable after the lengthy layoff. "I need a little time to really get my rhythm back," Mauresmo said. "I have a few adjustments to make in my game. A few things worked pretty well today. I'm thinking about the serve especially. other things, I'm still looking for, including the right timing on the court." In her first action since Wimbledon, No.5 seed Williams returned to the court and posted a 36 64 62 victory against French lucky loser Stephanie Cohen-Aloro. The 2001 winner in Toronto won her sixth straight match at the event and improves to 18-5 on the season. Williams has been battling with pain in her left ankle since first injuries it at Amelia Island in April. She said taking some of the pressure off her ankle has now caused her some knee pain. "Ankle's good, but I'm just dealing with some issues with my knee because of my ankle," Williams said. "Since it went bad, my ankle, my knee got a little weak. Well, weaker than it has been in the past." Despite a third round exit at San Diego and a second round departure in Los Angeles, No.3 seed and defending US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova hasn't hit the panic button yet, even after Tuesday's 26 75 64 victory against Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues. "It's tough sometimes because I'm not playing as well the last two weeks as I would love to," Kuznetsova said. "I wanted very badly to be there and to win matches. I have lots of faith on myself and want to play at my best level and to fight a lot. The game didn't go in the start as I want to, but I think I turned it well and had a good level later on." San Diego champion Mary Pierce, who injured her right thigh while practicing for Los Angeles last week, was forced to withdrawal from a tournament for the second straight week to recover from the injury. Pierce was scheduled to be the tournament's No.8 seed, but was replaced in the main draw by lucky loser Hana Sromova. "I was really looking forward to going to Toronto," Pierce said. "I always enjoy playing there and think it’s a great event. I was hoping that my leg would feel better after Los Angeles, but after trying to hit (on Monday), I realized it’s still too soon to come back and play at such a high level of competition. It’s just not 100 percent." The tournament also lost a pair of seeds in first round action on Tuesday, including No.11 seed Jelena Jankovic when the Serbian player fell in three sets to China'a Li Na, 64 57 62. No.13 seed and last week's runner-up in Los Angeles, Daniela Hantuchova, was forced to retire in the third set of her opening round match with Russian qualifier Alina Jidkova due to heat illness. Hantuchova was tied with Jidkova at 64 46 4-4 when she could no longer go on. Hantuchova has had quite North American schedule. After coming to the United States early to prepare for the hard court season, Hantuchova reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, quarters at Stanford, second round in San Diego before falling to Kim Clijsters in the Los Angeles final on Sunday. Meanwhile, No.10 seed Nathalie Dechy, No.12 Ana Ivanovic, No.14 Flavia Pennetta and No.15 Dinara Safina all reached the second round in straight sets. Others reaching the round of 32 on Day 2 included Conchita Martinez, Virginie Razzano and teen sensations Sesil Karatantcheva and Nicole Vaidisova. Qualifiers Zheng Jie, Rika Fujiwara and Mariana Diaz-Oliva also advanced, along with Italian lucky loser Antonella Serra Zanetti. --

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