Injured Dementieva has to withdraw
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Elena Dementieva has been forced to pull out of the Antwerp Diamond tournament with a shoulder injury.
The third-seeded Russian had been due to play Slovenian Tina Pisnik in the second round and her place in the draw will now be taken by Swiss lucky loser Myriam Casanova.
"I was looking forward to playing for the first time in Belgium, but because of this shoulder injury, I would not be able to give my best," said the 22-year-old.
"There would be no point my going on court. It's a shame for the tournament and for the fans, but I will do everything I can to be here next year," she added.
Meanwhile, Kim Clijsters got her bid off to a solid start, brushing aside Spain's Aranxta Parra 6-3 6-2 to reach the third round.
The Belgian second seed, who had a bye in round one, clinched victory on her third match point and was full of praise for her opponent.
"She is Spanish but does not play like your usual Spanish player, she has a great serve and is very aggressive. To win against her was not easy." said Clijsters.
But former French and Australian Open champion Mary Pierce, who lost to the Belgian world number two in Sunday's Paris Open final, was beaten 6-4 6-4 by ninth-seeded Magdalena Maleeva.
Bulgarian Maleeva will now meet Czech Iveta Benesova, who beat Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 7-5 6-4 earlier on Wednesday -- with the winner facing Clijsters in the quarterfinals.
Top seed and world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne will begin her campaign on Thursday after being given a late start to help her recover from a throat infection.
She will take on Czech Denisa Chladkova in the second round.
