Lleyton Hewitt began the US hardcourt season with a victory but countrywoman and fellow former US Open champion Samantha Stosur fell at the first hurdle.
Ranked No.65, veteran Hewitt showed his liking for the American hardcourts as he beat Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4 6-4 in the first round of the Atlanta Open.
However, there was no joy for Stosur, the second seed suffering a 6-2 6-4 beating from world No.83 Olga Govortsova of Belarus in her first match at the WTA tournament in Stanford, California.
World No.13 Stosur was playing her first match since losing to eventual finalist Sabine Lisicki in the third round at Wimbledon.
And she showed she has some way to go to reach the form that earned her the 2011 US Open title as the year's third grand slam looms in New York on August 26.
She served 10 double faults, including two in a row at one point against Govortsova.
"That didn't set a good tone for the match," Stosur said. "It is inexcusable to get that many in one match.
"She (Govortsova) was playing quite well and I wasn't able to combat what she was able to do.
"Things were slowly turning around, and I had a break to go 5-5. I gave myself a chance to get back into the match but I had to win that last game."
Hewitt too is motivated by the US Open, even though his maiden grand slam title there came way back in 2001.
"I hadn't hit a lot on hard court. I've always found that coming from grass to hard court is difficult," he said after beating Roger-Vasselin in 88 minutes.
"I feel like I've played very well for the most part ... I'm preparing for the US Open. When you've been No.1 and won slams, the big ones are what motivate you."
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