(Sports Network) - Venus Williams was among the first-round winners Saturday on the opening day of play at the China Open.

The third-seeded Williams notched a 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) victory over Russia's Vera Dushevina. The two also met in the first round of the U.S. Open, with Williams rallying from a set down to win.

Williams has two WTA titles this year, but hasn't won since claiming back-to- back crowns in Dubai and Acapulco in February.

Next up for the American star will be another Russian in Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who advanced with a 7-5, 6-1 triumph over Austria's Sybille Bammer.

Also winning Saturday was 10th-seeded Flavia Pennetta, who bounced back from a first-round loss at last week's event in Tokyo. The Italian earned a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 victory over Chinese wild card Han Xinyun.

A mild upset occurred when France's Alize Cornet toppled 15th-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak also moved on with a three-set win over France's Aravane Rezai, while Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine blasted Hungary's Agnes Szavay, 6-3, 6-0.

The top two seeds are French Open and Australian Open runner-up Dinara Safina and Wimbledon and Aussie Open champion Serena Williams.

Safina is scheduled to play her first-round match on Sunday against Italy's Roberta Vinci, while Serena Williams will take on Estonia's Kaia Kanepi.

Serbia's Ana Ivanovic was forced to withdraw because of an upper respiratory tract infection. She was the 11th seed and the draw was reconfigured, as France's Virginie Razzano moved into Ivanovic's slot with the 17th seed and lucky loser Vania King of the United States took Razzano's place.

The 2009 Beijing champion will collect a whopping $775,500.



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