Russian seeds Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Maria Kirilenko also went through, with the latter to face Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak after eliminating Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

In the absence of world No.2 Sharapova and 10th-ranked Zvonareva, Russian captain Shamil Tarpishchev has turned to two-time grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, as well as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina.

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But Kuznetsova's compatriot, 10th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenko, was knocked out of the tournament by Kazakhstan's Ksenia Pervak .

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Last year's runner-up and second seed Dinara Safina was made to battle for her first win beating Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4 6-4 in 89 minutes, while fellow-Russian and third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was a straight-sets winner over Anastasia Rodionova 6-1 6-2.

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