Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova rallied to defeat former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo of France 0-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8) yesterday in the first round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

Mauresmo led 4-1 in the tiebreaker at Ariake Colloseum, but Cibulkova fought back and took a 9-8 lead with a crosscourt forehand before winning when Mauresmo's return went long.

Mauresmo blew four match points, including one in the tiebreaker.

"It's always frustrating to lose a match when you have match points and can't close it out," Mauresmo said. "I let her get back into the match in the second set and it's disappointing to lose like that."

Despite advancing Cibulkova, ranked 21st in the world -- two places above Mauresmo -- was disappointed with her performance.

"I wasn't playing very well from the beginning until the end," she said. "I was just feeling very tired because I came here the day before yesterday, and I just didn't feel comfortable.

"I saved four match points. The match was really close in the third set. If I could have been playing better, I would have closed it earlier in the third set. But I just fought and I just won this match," she added.

Two seeds were eliminated yesterday with seventh-ranked Daniela Hantuchova losing to Francesca Schiavone 1-6, 5-7 and eighth seed Anna Chakvetadze of Russia losing to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 4-6, 6-3, 3-6.

Sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland strolled past Japanese wildcard Aiko Nakamura 6-1, 6-4, while Marion Bartoli of France defeated Russia's Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-2.

Another Japanese wildcard, Ayumi Morita, edged past Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-7 (9), 7-5, 6-4, while France's Alize Cornet saw off Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Flavia Pennetta of Italy was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Israel's Shahar Peer.

Special moment

Meanwhile, Russia's Elena Dementieva says she would not trade her Olympic gold medal for a rush of grand slam titles.

"That was the happiest moment in my life for sure," she said yesterday. "Not just in my career but in my life. There is nothing bigger than the Olympic Games."

"It was a very special moment," Dementieva said of her Beijing Olympics gold. "I was dreaming about it since I played in the 2000 final in Sydney. I'll never forget it."

Dementieva, who lost to Venus Williams to finish with a silver medal eight years ago, has yet to win a grand slam singles title.

"Winning in Beijing was my biggest goal this year," said Dementieva, a beaten finalist at the 2004 French and US Opens.

"I wasn't sure I was even going to be there because Russia has so many players in the top 10. I worked so hard this year to make it to the Olympics.

"When it came it was still a big surprise. It's not only because the Olympics are once every four years. You just can't compare it to any tournament.

"For sure grand slams are big but when you represent your country in the Olympic Games it's so special. There is nothing bigger than that."

"But I've got to try to move on from Beijing," said the 26-year-old Muscovite, who lost in the semifinals of the US Open earlier this month to Jelena Jankovic. "The season is not over yet. I'm trying to stay focused and finish the year on a positive note."

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily September 17, 2008)