CoCo Vandeweghe won her opening match in Carlsbad.
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CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) - No. 16 seed Polona Hercog needed more than two hours before defeating qualifier Natalie Grandin, 7-6 (1), 2-6, 6-4 in a first-round match at the Mercury Insurance Open on Monday.
Only two seeded players saw action in a tournament hit hard by injuries. No. 2-ranked Kim Clijsters of Belgium, who skipped Wimbledon because of an ankle injury, pulled out with the same injury.
Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic withdrew because of a pulled abdominal muscle. A groin injury knocked out two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.
No. 9 seed Roberta Vinci of Italy rebounded for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 win against Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski. After a close first two sets, Vinci dominated the final set as she twice broke Jovanovski's serve and held off three break points on her serve.
Alexa Glatch of the United States beat Russia's Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 6-2; Elena Baltacha of Great Britain defeated American Melanie Oudin 6-0, 6-1; Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson was a 6-3, 6-1 winner over Ashley Weinhold of the U.S., 6-3, 6-1; and American Jill Craybas beat Marie-Eve Pelletier of Canada 6-1, 6-1.
Hercog won despite poor serving in the match that lasted 2 hours, 9 minutes. The Slovenian had 10 double faults and a first-serve percentage of 63 percent. The South African Grandin, a qualifier into the event, made 71 percent of her first serves, but won less than half of the points on her first serve.
Craybas will face third-ranked and top-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia in the second round. Glatch's win advances her to a match against No. 2 seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany.