There were wins for Marinko Matosevic and Jarmila Groth but fellow Australian Bernard Tomic bowed out of the first round of the joint ATP/WTA event at Indian Wells on Friday.
Matosevic, the losing finalist last weekend in Florida, beat Belgian Ruben Bemelmans 6-2 6-3 while Tomic lost to Gilles Muller of Luxemburg 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-0.
It was second round action for Groth in the women’s event, upsetting 22nd seed Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 2-6 6-2 6-4.
Top seed Victoria Azarenka flirted with disaster and a first loss of the season but scratched through over German Mona Barthel to reach the third round 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6).
The world No.1 only just managed her 18th win of the season as she held off the battling No.37, who saved a match point in the second set tiebreaker and two more in the third-set decider before going down on a backhand long after three hours.
“It was survival, but it’s a good feeling also to come after a match like this with a win,” said Azarenka.
“I could have been already beating myself up somewhere in my house after losing.
“But I’m here, you know, and I got through. It’s a good sign to win when you’re not playing your best.”
There was no drama for fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Sorona Cirstea 6-2 6-4.
Ex-world No.1 and 2010 champion Jelena Jankovic felt the effects of a long flight from Malaysia as the 12th seed lost her opening match to American Jamie Hampton 6-4 6-3.
Wildcard Hampton will next play Groth.
Jankovic was coming off semi-finals in Dubai and Kuala Lumpur in recent weeks.
“It was a bad day of tennis for me, I just did not feel the ball,” said Jankovic after her second-round loss following a bye.
“My legs felt so heavy on the court, I was moving very badly.”
In men’s first-round play, German veteran Tommy Haas beat Finn Jarkko Nieminen 7-6 (11-9) 6-4, with that pair playing for the first time in a decade.
American wildcard Denis Kudla moved into a match with third seed and three-time winner Roger Federer after defeating Germany’s Tobias Kamke 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
