Waltz for Henin-Hardenne in Charleston

CHARLESTON, SC, Apr 12 (Reuters) Top seed Justine Henin-Hardenne opened the defence of her Family Circle Cup title yesterday with a comfortable win, but number 14 Nicole Vaidisova was one of three seeds to fall by the wayside.

Henin-Hardenne, aiming to shake off the knee injury that troubled her in Indian Wells and Miami in the last month, defeated Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-2 6-3.

Vaidisova was cruising toward the third round when unseeded Colombian Catalina Castano roared back, winning 10 straight games on the way to a 7-5 6-2 victory.

Serbia's Jelena Jankovic, seeded 10, lost to world number 193 Julia Vakulenko of the Ukraine 7-6 (5) 7-5 while 15th seed Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic lost to American Jamea Jackson, 6-4 6-3.

Vaidisova, a rising star from the Czech Republic, led 5-1 in the first set.

''I got out of my rhythm and it was definitely frustrating,'' she said. ''I just couldn't keep playing well, so it's definitely not a match I will try to remember for a long time.'' Castano, a Colombian ranked number 48 in the world, jumped from 110 to 59 on the WTA Tour in 2005.

''I have been trying in practice and in matches to be positive all the time,'' Castano said. ''That's what I was thinking when I was down 5-1, just be positive. Like you never known when the match can change.'' Third seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland survived a tough match with Meilen Tu of the US, winning 6-5 7-5.

REUTERS DH BD0657