Pitkowski comeback floors Stevenson

Sarah Pitkowski: faces Venus Williams next

Sarah Pitkowski of France defeated American Alexandra Stevenson 4-6 6-4 6-4 in the first round of the $2m Tennis Masters Series at Indian Wells, California, on Wednesday.

"It was very disappointing because the match was mine, and I let it go," said Stevenson, who reached the 1999 Wimbledon semi-finals as a qualifier.

"She played like it was a Grand Slam, she played really well. She didn't deserve to win, though."

I was more focused on making her play

  Sarah Pitkowski

Pitkowski, who squandered a 3-1 lead to lose the opening set, scoffed at Stevenson's assertion that she didn't win the match on merit.

"If she thinks that, that's good for her," Pitkowski said.

"I think that I pushed her to make mistakes. Maybe she didn't realize that I was more focused on making her play."

Pitkowski now faces Venus Williams, the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion, in the second round.

In another first-round match, former French Open champion Iva Majoli of Croatia continued her comeback with a quick 6-4 6-2 victory over Marlene Weingartner of Germany.

"I'm healthy now, I'm feeling great," Majoli said. "I feel like I'm more mature now.

"Maybe these two years that I didn't play helped me. I feel like a veteran in a way, but I think I still have some years to play."

All 16 seeds, led by world number one Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams and Monica Seles, received first round byes and will not see action until Friday.