Farina Elia Falls to Benesova in First Round Upset

Italy’s Silvia Farina Elia became the first seeded player to lose at the 2004 Acura Classic as she was upset by Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4 in a first-round match on Stadium Court.

The match, which took one-hour and 22 minutes to complete, did not start out well for Farina Elia as she double faulted three times in losing the opening game.

After losing the first set, 6-2, the Italian continued to have problems with her serve as she double faulted twice in dropping her serve to start the second set.

Later in the second set with the score tied at 4-4, Benesova broke Farina Elia for the fifth time in the match and despite hitting a double fault in the tenth game, went on to serve out the match.

Benesova advances to the second round where she will meet the winner of the first-round match between Conchita Martinez of Spain and Emilie Loit of France.

• This was the first career meeting between Farina Elia and Benesova.
• Benesova is making her Acura Classic Debut.
• Benesova is ranked 55 in the world.
• Farina Elia is ranked 19 in the world.
• Farina Elia was making her second Acura Classic appearance. As the 15th seed last year, she lost her first match to Russia's Lina Krasnoroutskaya after receiving a first-round bye.
  

Click Here for more Match Summaries.