Top-seeded Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne would just as soon not be dubbed the favorite to lift the WTA trophy at the Pacific Life Open.
Henin-Hardenne has won two of her three tournaments so far this year, but as her retirement in the final of the Australian Open reminded her, it's not always enough to be playing good tennis.
Among the players jockeying for position in opening round action, American Ashley Harkleroad booked a second-round clash with Davenport with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over China's Yan Zi. American Lisa Raymond rallied to beat Czech Katerina Bohmova 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) to line up a clash with France's 30th seed Emilie Loit.
Australian Samantha Stosur was the highest-ranked player in action on Wednesday, at 55 in the world, downing Ukrainian qualifier Yuliana Fedak 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 to set up a meeting with 10th-seeded Russian Dinara Safina. French qualifier Camille Pin beat Japan's Saori Obata (JPN) to advance to a meeting with former world number one Martina Hingis, the 19th seed. American Jamea Jackson also booked a big-name match-up, defeating Georgian Anna Tatishvili 6-2, 6-3 to earn a shot at Sharapova.