Marquee Loses a Name

On a day devoid of marquee players, Anna Kournikova made it one less on Sunday, pulling out of the Estyle.com Classic in Manhattan Beach because of a sore foot.

It was not known if it was the same foot that had sidelined the Russian since February because of a stress fracture. She returned last week and suffered a second-round loss in the Acura Classic at Carlsbad.

On the court at Manhattan Beach, Anne Kremer continued her quest to crack the WTA top 20 after coming close twice before.

The 25-year-old, ranked No. 33 in the world, easily brushed aside California native Meilen Tu in the opening round of the tournament. After losing the first set, 6-4, Tu got frustrated and began to make mistakes and pound her racket to the court en route to a 6-4, 6-2 loss.

“My goal this year is to come as close to No. 20 as possible,” said Kremer, who had a career-high ranking of No. 27 last year.

“I’ve had my ups and downs this year,” Kremer said. “The problem is my consistency. I can get close, and I can beat good players. But then I just seem to get a little bit off. I really need to work on that, but I haven’t figured out quite what it is--mentally or physically.”

The tournament marked its 31st year by increasing the draw from 28 to 48 players, so match play began on Sunday, coinciding with the championship at the Acura Classic in Carlsbad.

Kremer was the highest-seeded player in action, and only one other player ranked in the top 40 was scheduled.

Tatiana Panova, ranked No. 36, was beaten, 6-1, 5-7, 6-1, by 50th-ranked Rita Grande.

Tu? Grande? Nola? Not exactly a marquee day, but more familiar names will be heard from as the week goes on. Serena Williams, one of three players in the tournament’s history to win back-to-back titles, will go for her third consecutive championship.

Other winners included: Czech Republic’s Daja Bedanova, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 over Janet Lee; Australia’s Alicia Molik, 6-2, 6-4 over Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic; France’s Virginie Razzano, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 over compatriot Anne-Gaelle Sidot; and Marissa Irvin, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 over Cory Ann Avants.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Featured Matches

Today, Stadium Court, 10 a.m.

Alexandra Stevenson vs. Tamarine Tanasugarn, Thailand; Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, vs. Virginie Razzano, France; Jelena Dokic, Yugoslavia, vs. Marlene Weingartner, Germany.