Maleeva advances in du Maurier Open

Magdalena Maleeva, trying to re-establish herself as an elite player, ousted Sonya Jeyaseelan 6-1, 6-0 on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the du Maurier Open in Montreal.

Magdalena Maleeva, trying to re-establish herself as an elite player, ousted Sonya Jeyaseelan 6-1, 6-0 on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the du Maurier Open in Montreal.

Jeyaseelan, the top-ranked Canadian, lasted only 53 minutes in losing to Maleeva, a Bulgarian qualifier.

Maleeva, ranked 53rd in the world, said she's recovered from a series of injuries that sent her world ranking plummeting from No. 4 in 1996.

"I feel very good - knock on wood," Maleeva said, gently tapping her fist against her head. "It's a strange feeling, but I've had no problems since October."

Maleeva, 25, missed 11 months after shoulder surgery, then sustained a stress fracture in her forearm when she returned to the tour last year.

She qualified for the tournament by beating another Canadian Maureen Drake on Sunday.

"I didn't give her much of a chance," said Maleeva of her dominating performance over Jeyaseelan. "We'd already played each other twice this year and she beat me the second time, so I know she's a tough player."

Jeyaseelan had her serve broken six times.

"It's difficult when nothing's working," Jeyaseelan said. "She dominated from the first point on. I basically just hung in there and waited until she gave me a breather. She didn't."

Jana Nejedly, ranked 69th, is the only Canadian remaining in the draw. She will meet Kveta Hrdlickova of the Czech Republic, who upset 12th-seeded Dominique Van Roost 6-4, 6-3 Tuesday night.

In second-round matches on Tuesday, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, the seventh seed, defeated Slovakian qualifier Henrieta Nagyova 6-4, 6-1; Anke Huber of Germany, seeded sixth, beat Sarah Pitkowski of France 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; and No. 5 seed Nathalie Tauziat of France was upset 6-4, 6-1 by Luxembourg's Anne Kremer.

In first-round matches, Jennifer Capriati, seeded 13th, downed Italy's Tathiana Garbin, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1) and Silvija Talaja of Croatia upset Austria's Barbara Schett, the 14th seed, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Anna Kournikova and Lindsay Davenport won a doubles match, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, over Nicole Arendt and Manon Bollegraf.

A late scheduling switch sent hordes of spectators scurrying to Centre Court to see Kournikova and Davenport - leaving a considerably smaller crowd to watch the doubles match involving Martina Hingis, the world's No. 1 player, and Tauziat.

Hingis and Tauziat won their second-round doubles match against Rita Grande and Karina Habsudova, 6-3, 6-3.

Tennis Canada officials said 153,500 tickets have already been sold for the week-long tournament, eclipsing the du Maurier Open record set in 1998.

Results from the $1.08 million Omnium du Maurier Sanex WTA Tour hard-court tournament:

Singles - First Round

Magdalena Maleeva, Bulgaria, def. Sonya Jeyaseelan, Canada, 6-1, 6-0. Silvija Talaja, Croatia, def. Barbara Schett (14), Austria, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Amy Frazier (16), United States, def. Elena Dementieva, Russia, 6-4, 6-2. Jennifer Capriati (13), United States, def. Tathiana Garbin, Italy, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1). Julie Halard-Decugis (10), France, def. Anne-Gaelle Sidot, France, 4-6, 6-7 (7), 6-3. Nadejda Petrova, Russia, def. Kristina Brandi, United States, 7-6 (5), 6-1. Sandra Nacuk, Yugoslavia, def. Nicole Pratt, Australia, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-2. Kveta Hrdlickova, Czech Republic, def. Dominique Van Roost (12), Belgium, 6-4, 6-3.

Second Round

Anke Huber (6), Germany, def. Sarah Pitkowski, France, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Conchita Martinez (3), Spain, def. Annie Miller, United States, 6-0, 6-1. Anne Kremer, Luxembourg, def. Nathalie Tauziat (5), France, 6-4, 6-1. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (7), Spain, def. Henrieta Nagyova, Slovakia, 6-4, 6-1. Chanda Rubin (15), United States, def. Tatiana Panova, Russia, 6-2, 6-3.

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Doubles - First Round

Kristie Boogert and Miriam Oremans, Netherlands, def. Erika de Lone, United States, and Patty Schnyder, Switzerland, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. Lisa McShea, Australia, and Irina Selyutina, Kazakstan, def. Mariaan de Swardt, South Africa, and Caroline Vis, Netherlands, 7-5, 6-3. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, and Nathalie Tauziat (2), France, def. Rita Grande, Italy, and Karina Habsudova, Slovakia, 6-3, 6-3. Cara Black, Zimbabwe, and Elena Likhovtseva (8), Russia, def. Sabine Appelmans, Belgium, and Patricia Tarabini, Argentina, 6-1, 6-3. Amanda Coetzer, South Africa, and Lori McNeil, United States, def. Jelena Dokic and Rennae Stubbs, Australia, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2). Kimberly Po, United States, and Anne-Gaelle Sidot, France, def. Tathiana Garbin, Italy, and Janette Husarova, Slovakia, 6-2, 6-4.