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by Priya Prasad New Year's Eve would prove to be a day of disappointment for several players as matches ran up to past 10 in the evening. Daniela Hantuchova had few problems taking on Bianka Lamade in the first match of the day, winning 6-1 7-5 against the lanky German. Meghann Shaughnessy had an even easier time against the clay-court stylings of Nuria Llagostera-Vives, winning 6-2 6-2 over the qualifier. Klara Koukalova continued to impress, fighting hard in the first set and carrying her momentum into the second set only to run out of steam in the third against the Swiss Patty Schnyder. The Czech plays an aggressive game despite being just over 5'5". Former NCAA champion Lilia Osterloh failed to make any impression on local favourite Nicole Pratt, whose scrapping net game totally stumped her opponent. Nicole moves into the second round against the winner of the final match of the day between Rita Grande and qualifier Anca Barna. Iva Majoli and Joanette Kruger followed up on court, resulting in a predictably long, flashes-of-brillience in a sea of errors sort of match. The talented but complacent Croat took the first set 6-4 before losing the second and third sets with absolutely shocking tennis, and trudged off court wondering when it will be when she makes it back to the top 10 as she believes she is both capable and deserving of. As a player once said about the former Roland Garros champion and foiler of Martina Hingis' Grand Slam year, "she definitely has the talent to be in the top 10, but you can't come back from just inside the top 200 by playing 5 matches a year." The handful of matches certainly has increased in number, but one has to wonder about her work ethic during off-court hours. Ai Sugiyama, a familiar sight on court at the Gold Coast tournament, had a large share of support in her match against Marlene Weingartner, but had trouble getting her serve under control in the second set, eventually winning 6-0 4-6 6-2 against the hard-hitting German. Next up for her will be Anastasia Myskina, another baseline basher, who will be looking to make good on her first appearance in the season-opening events. Eager not to miss her match against qualifier Anca Barna, Rita Grande had been ready to play since much earlier in the day, and was glad to be on court at 8pm. Her good friend and doubles partner Tathiana Garbin had lost to the German in the first qualifying round, and the Italian posse were all on hand to witness "the revenge" before heading out for New Year's Eve in Surfers Paradise. Unfortunately, her play lacked any bite to it whatsoever, and nearly every shot in the first set was completely predictable: low slices off the backhand and high topspins off the forehand. Anca Barna had little trouble telling where the balls were heading, and aided by some errors off the Italian's racquet, took the first set 6-3. The second set was a complete turnaround, with Rita actually hitting the ball with some velocity instead of depending on errors from her opponent. Adding the errors coming from the German into the equation, the second set went 6-2 to the Italian. The third set was a complete wipeout, though, and Rita couldn't keep the ball in play to save her life (or the match, rather). Revenge would not be on the menu after all, and Anca Barna moved into the second round to set up a meeting with a player with a very different game, Nicole Pratt. Singles Round 1:
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