Krajicek, Smashnova, Koukalova win Palermo openers
PALERMO, Sicily -- Third-seeded Michaella Krajicek saved a match point before beating wild card Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-1, 6-7 (3), 7-5 in the first round of the Palermo International on Monday.
Krajicek, of the Netherlands, faced match point at 4-5 in the final set before rallying to beat her Swiss opponent.
Fifth-seeded Anna Smashnova had an easier time against Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine, winning 6-3, 6-2.
Klara Koukalova, the 2005 Palermo runner-up, beat France's Stephanie Foretz 6-4, 6-2 to record her 10th win of the year. The Czech will next play Italian serve-and-volley specialist Roberta Vinci, who beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 7-5, 6-4.
In an all-Italian showdown, wild card Tathiana Garbin downed Alice Canepa 6-2, 6-1 to secure her place in the second round.
Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy and two-time defending champion Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain were scheduled to play their first-round matches Tuesday.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press
