THE defending champion Mary Pierce brushed aside Austrian Petra Schwarz to reach the second round of the Australian Open yesterday. The French fourth seed had too much artillery for the 108th-ranked Schwarz, winning 6-3, 6-1 in the opening match under lights on centre court.
The 21-year-old Pierce showed a more varied game from last year in her tournament debut, moving to the net more often and using more drop shots. That's my game now, to play a bit smarter and with more variety," she said.
Pierce says she has found that opponents become used 19 her pounded shots and had got into a groove against her. Last year, Pierce beat Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the final to become the first French woman to win a Grand Slam title since Francoise Durr at the 1967 French Open.
Schwarz remarked on Pierce's ground strokes: "She's hitting them so hard . . . sometimes she's missing easy volleys but she could come in (to the net) more often," Schwarz said.
Pierce will play Russian Elena Likhovtseva in the second round today. In 17 matches at Flinders Park, the French star has lost only twice for the loss of five sets.
After two days, two seeded women's players have succumbed in the first round. American 14th seed Amy Frazier was beaten yesterday by Austrian Barbara Schett 4-6, 7-5, 9-7. Twelfth seed Natasha Zvereva of Belarus, bowed out on Monday.
World number two Conchita Martinez outclassed Britain's hard-working Clare Wood, clinching the match with an ace to win 6-4, 6-1.
