Top seed Camerin gets a scare

Tashkent, Oct 2 (UNI) Top seeded Maria Elena Camerin of Italy came within a whisker of being upset by a Chinese qualifier in the first round of the Tashkent Open today.

Nineteen-year-old Ren Jing, ranked 304 in the world, served for the match in the 10th game of the third set, but her nerves got the better of her and three backhand errors cost her the game.

Camerin, not in the best of form herself, made the most of it and won 61, 57, 75 in 2 hours and 26 minutes.

''It was going to be hard for her to close the match,'' said Camerin later adding that 's happened to me also, when I played against much higher-ranked players.

''The first match (of a tournament) is never easy,'' she said.

''I did not play well. The key today was fighting and staying there,'' she said.

''I wasn't timing the ball well and she started to play better in the second set,'' said Camerin.

There was an upset on Day 1 of the Tier IV Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event, however, when Uzbekistan's Iroda Tulyaganova, defeated No 5 seed Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus 6-3 76 (5).

Tulyaganova, a huge homecrowd favourite, was in early form and took the first set easily. She couldn't maintain the intensity and Yakimova, a good mover on court with good anticipation, started wearing her down.

Tulyaganova, ranked 221 in the world this week, to Yakimova's 68, survived a breakpoint in the sixth game and held on to force the tie-breaker. A forehand error and a muffed overhead put her 3-5 down but she rallied and won the next three points, getting to matchpoint with a half-volley which Yakimova thought was long. It possibly upset her composure for she served a double-fault to end the match.

Tulyaganova was delighted with her win and said she hoped to do better in the coming matches. She next plays Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn, who eliminated last year's runner-up Akgul Amanmuradova, 6-4, 7-5.

Amanmuradova, another local favourite, seemed hampered by an ankle injury suffered a couple of weeks ago and looked uncomfortable moving on court, especially in the first set. Her discomfort was apparent and even Tanasugarn said she felt her opponent was moving slower than usual on the court.

Amanmuradova was bitterly disappointed after the defeat, especially given the huge expectations after her sensational run last year when, like this year, after being given a wildcard entry, she made it through to the final.

Meanwhile, No 4 seed Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine withdrew from the tournament. She suffered a wrist injury while winning the final match against Francesca Schiavone at Luxembourg yesterday.

Bondarenko's slot has been filled by Ukraine's Mariya Koryttseva.

Day 1 results Singles First round 1Maria Elena Camerin (Ita) bt Q Ren Jing (Chn) 61 57 75 Alla Kudryavtseva (Rus) bt Kira Nagy (Hun) 75 63 Tamarine Tanasugarn (Tha) bt WC Akgul Amanmuradova 64 75 WC Iroda Tulyaganova (Uzb) bt Anastasiya Yakimova (Blr) 63 76 (5) LL Ekaterina Dzehailevich (Blr) bt Anne Keothavong (GBR) 63 62 Doubles First round Anastassia Rodinonova/ Galina Vokoboeva (Rus) bt Anglelina Gabueva (Rus)/ Diana Narzykulova (Uzb) 62 61 Sanya Ancic (Cro)/Mariya Koryttseva (Ukr) bt Alberta Brianti (Ita)/Hana Sromova (Cze) 16 75 63 Abina Khabibulina/Dilyara Saidkhodjayeva (Uzb) bt Sariya Khayrova/Nigora Sirojiddinova (Uzb) 62 60 UNI XC SK BD2225