SYDNEY — Former champion Li Na advanced to the second round of the Sydney International with a 7-6 (2), 7-5 win over Christina McHale Monday, and Sam Stosur extended her miserable start to 2013 with another first-round loss. The fourth-seeded Li, who won the Shenzhen Open last week, started her breakthrough 2011 season with a title in Sydney before reaching her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, then winning her first major at Roland Garros. She has slipped slightly in the rankings but is coming back to conditions that suit her in Australia. The 30-year-old Chinese player will next meet Japanese qualifier Ayumi Morita, who ousted Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. The ninth-ranked Stosur lost 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-4 to Zheng Jie of China, her fifth loss in as many matches on Australian soil dating back to last season. The 2011 US Open champion will head to the season's first major at Melbourne Park next week with only two matches since minor ankle surgery six weeks ago. In another upset result, American teenager Madison Keys defeated 17th-ranked Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-1. Former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic beat Tamira Paszek 6-2, 7-6 (5) to set up a showdown with unseeded Italian veteran Roberta Vinci, who upset eighth-seeded Nadia Petrova 7-5, 7-5. French Open finalist Sara Errani advanced 6-1, 6-3 over Czech qualifier Karolina Pliskova and will go into a second-round match against Maria Kirilenko of Russia, a 7-5, 6-2 winner over Australian wild-card Olivia Rogowska. In other first-round matches, 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan beat Casey Dellacqua of Australia 6-4, 6-1 and former US Open and French Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova continued her comeback from a knee injury that marred her 2012 season with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Julia Goerges of Germany. In men's matches, fifth-seeded Florian Mayer of Germany beat Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-1, 6-2, No. 8 Marcel Granollers of Spain had a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 win over Matthew Ebden of Australia and Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan defeated Australian qualifier James Duckworth 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6(3). Hsieh, Schiavone out In Hobart, top-seeded Hsieh Su-wei lost to former doubles partner Peng Shuai of China 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) in the first round of the Hobart International Monday. Second-seeded Sorana Cirstea of Romania beat Nina Bratchikova of Russia 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 and No. 4 Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan had a 6-4, 6-1 win over Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain. Another of the leading players to fall was 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, seeded sixth, who lost to Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 2-6, 6-3, 7-6. Malisse, Rochus move up In Auckland, Belgian veterans Olivier Rochus and Xavier Malisse both beat higher-ranked opponents Monday to advance to the second round of the Heineken Open. The 89th-ranked Rochus, who reached the final in Auckland for the second time last year but needed a wild card to enter the main draw this time, beat 51st-ranked Albert Ramos of Spain 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. The 30-year-old Belgian's victory improved his record in singles in Auckland to 14-7. Earlier, the 32-year-old Malisse beat seventh-seeded Martin Klizan of Slovakia 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4. Malisse is ranked No. 62. Also, eighth-seeded Thomasz Bellucci of Brazil defeated David Goffin of Belgium 7-6 (5), 6-2 and Brian Baker of the United States continued his remarkable comeback by beating fifth-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4. — Agencies
