Li, Kerber advance; Venus, Errani ousted at Aussie Open

Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Last year's runner-up Li Na and ninth-seeded German Angelique Kerber earned first-round wins Monday, while 2003 runner-up Venus Williams and seventh-seeded Italian Sara Errani suffered early exits at the Australian Open.

The fourth-seeded Li, who lost to two-time reigning champion Victoria Azarenka in last year's final, needed just 61 minutes to breeze past Croatia's Ana Konjuh 6-2, 6-0 on the hardcourts at Melbourne Park.

Kerber encountered a bit more resistance in her first-round matchup with Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova, but was able to bounce back from an ugly second set to claim a 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 victory.

Williams, meanwhile, jumped out to an early advantage against Ekaterina Makarova, but the seven-time major champion faltered down the stretch against the 22nd-seeded Russian, allowing Makarova to secure a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 triumph.

Errani was the highest seeded woman to fall in the early wave of matchups as she was upended by Germany's Julia Goerges in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.

Errani's compatriot, 12th-seeded Roberta Vinci, was also upended Monday, as China's Jie Zheng straight-setted Vinci, 6-4, 6-3.

Fourteenth-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic notched a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Kiki Bertens, while 17th-seeded Australian Sam Stosur secured her spot in the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Klara Zakopalova.

No. 18 Belgian Kirsten Flipkens claimed a 6-3, 6-0 win over Laura Robson and 26th-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova downed Julia Glushko by a 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 margin.

No. 28 Italian Flavia Pennetta advanced with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Alexandra Cadantu, 30th-seeded Canadian Eugenie Bouchard bounced Hao Chen Tang with a 7-5, 6-1 decision and Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, the 31st seed, earned a hard-fought 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Heather Watson.

Also on Monday, Karolina Pliskova claimed a 6-0, 6-1 win over Pauline Parmentier, qualifier Belinda Bencic bested Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, American Irina Falconi notched a 6-3, 6-1 win over Anabel Medina Garrigues, and Lucie Hradecka registered a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Donna Vekic.

In other unseeded action, Alla Kudryavtseva downed Caroline Garcia 6-2, 7-6 (9-7), Monica Puig picked up a 6-2, 6-4 win over Anna Tatishvili, and Australian wild card Casey Dellacqua advanced with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Vera Zvonareva.

Other players picking up first-round victories Monday included American Madison Keys, Germany's Annika Beck and Mona Barthel, France's Virginie Razzano, Serbian Vesna Dolonc and Romanian Monica Niculescu.