WTA

• Bartoli, Sharapova reach second round in Stanford

  Stanford, CA (Sports Network) - Reigning champion Marion Bartoli and former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova were first-round victors Tuesday at the $700,000 Bank of the West Classic tennis event.

  The former Wimbledon runner-up Bartoli handled American Ashley Harkleroad 6-1, 6-4 on the hardcourts at Taube Family Tennis Stadium, while Sharapova straight-setted Zheng Jie of China, 6-4, 7-5.

  Bartoli, seeded fourth this week, surprised American Venus Williams in last year's Stanford finale and was the runner-up here in 2008. The Frenchwoman lost to Williams in the 2007 Wimbledon final.

  In other seeded play: sixth-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel recovered from a slow start to upend Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, 0-6, 6-4, 6-3; No. 7 Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium downed China's Yung-Jan Chan, 6-3, 6-1; and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, seeded eighth, cruised past Ayumi Morita of Japan, 6-0, 6-2.

  AmericanMelanie Oudin defeated Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak, the 2008 champion, 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 6-3.

  Other first-round winners included Maria Kirilenko, Olga Savchuk and Christina McHale,whoousted Mirjana Lucic,Jill Craybas and Kai-Chen Chang, respectively.

  This week's top seeds, both of whom received opening-round byes, are French Open runner-up Samantha Stosur and Russian star Elena Dementieva, who has been sidelined by a calf injury since retiring from her semifinal match against Francesca Schiavone at the French Open early last month. Stosur lost to Schiavone in the finale at Roland Garros.

  07/28 02:58:02 ET