American Meghann Shaughnessy opened the defence of her title at the WTA Bell Challenge with a hard-fought victory over unseeded Alina Jidkova.

The fifth-seeded Shaughnessy needed three sets to dispatch her Russian opponent, 6-3 3-6 7-6.

A winner of three career titles, she has not reached a final since January when she was runner-up in Sydney.

Top seed Silvia Farina Elia received a first-round bye and will meet American Laura Granville in the second round.

Elena Dementieva, the second seed, also received a bye.

In other first round results, third seed Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria defeated South African qualifier Jessica Steck, while Canada's Maureen Drake upset fourth-seeded Anne Kremer.

First round results from the Bell Challenge:

(3) Magdalena Maleeva (Bul) bt Jessica Steck (Rsa) 6-4 6-3
Anastassia Rodionova (Rus) bt Jennifer Hopkins (USA) 6-1 6-1
Angelika Roesch (Ger) bt Kelly Liggan (Irl) 6-3 7-6
Anousjka Van Exel (Ned) bt Emilie Loit (Fra) 6-1 7-6
(5) Meghann Shaughnessy (USA) bt Alina Jidkova (Rus) 6-3 3-6 7-6
Maureen Drake (Can) bt (4) Anne Kremer (Lux ) 6-4 7-5
(6) Alexandra Stevenson (USA ) bt Maria Emilia Salerni (Arg) 6-4 6-1
Fabiola Zuluaga (Col) bt Samantha Reeves (USA) 6-2 6-3
Marlene Weingartner (Ger) bt Melanie Marois (Can) 4-6 6-3 6-4