 Pierce has struggled with injury this year |
Defending champion Mary Pierce was made to struggle before winning through to the third round of the Acura Classic in San Diego on Wednesday. The 31-year-old sixth seed, who has not played since February after tearing ligaments in her foot, edged past Austria's Sybille Bammer 6-1 6-7 7-6.
Top seed Kim Clijsters eased past Samantha Stosur 6-1 6-2.
But third seed Nadia Petrova crashed out 6-3 6-7 6-2 to her fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze.
Pierce struggled to find her form for much of the match, throwing away three match points with forehand errors in the second set tie-breaker, which she lost 9-7.
She said: "The most important thing is I know I can play without hurting myself."
 | I felt absolutely out of it - the ball was just flying by me |
Pierce reached two Grand Slam finals last year, at the French and US Opens, and said she still has some major goals left.
"The only thing I haven't done is been ranked number one, made the final of Wimbledon or win it, and I don't have an Olympic medal - those are the three things I want."
Petrova injured her hip prior to Roland Garros and has not played since her first-round exit there to Japan's Akiko Morigami.
She said: "I felt absolutely out of it. The ball was just flying by me."
Chakvetadze will play another teenager, Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, who destroyed American qualifier Amy Frazier 6-3 6-2.
Fourth seed Elena Dementieva took down American Ashley Harkleroad 6-2 6-2 and will face India's Sania Mirza, who beat 15th seed Katarina Srebotnik 6-3 7-6.
Russia's Vera Zvonareva advanced when China's Peng Shuai retired with heat illness.
Flavia Pennetta of Italy, seeded 12, overcame American Jamea Jackson 6-2 7-6 and will play eighth seed Martina Hingis.
It is the first time since the tournament began in 1984 there are no American women in the third round.
Lindsay Davenport and the Williams sisters withdrew with injury before the event.
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