Heat boils top seed

Farina Elia was trailing to Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian

Sizzling temperatures forced top seed Silvia Farina Elia to withdraw from the first round of the PreCon Open in Basle with heat exhaustion.

The Italian was trailing Swiss favourite Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian 6-3 2-0 when she eventually retired.

There were no such problems for second seed Magui Serna, who defeated Spanish compatriot Marie Jose Martinez 6-3 3-6 6-4.

Italy's Francesca Schiavone, seeded fourth, disappointed home fans by beating Emmanuelle Gagliardi 5-7 7-5 7-5 while fifth seed Mariana Diaz-Olivia defeated Romanian wildcard Ruxandra Dragomir 6-3 6-4.

South Africa's Joannette Kruger was another seed to fall, the seventh seed losing 7-5 6-3 to Germany's Bianka Lamade.