QUEBEC CITY: Nadia Petrova, who was coming off a shocking fourth-round loss to Melanie Oudin at the US Open, cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 win over Carly Gullickson in the first round of the WTA Bell Challenge.

Defending champ and top seed Petrova of Russia needed just 51 minutes to dispatch Gullickson at the 220,000 dollar indoor tournament on Tuesday.

Third seeded Aleksandra Wozniak also opened on a successful note by beating Corinna Dentoni by the same 6-2, 6-0 margin at the Laval University courts.

Last year's runner-up Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated seventh-seeded Varvara Lepchenko 6-4, 7-5.

In other seeded player action, fourth seeded Czech Lucie Safarova hammered Canadian hero Stephanie Dubois 6-1, 6-3, and German Julia Goerges, eighth seed, beat Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson 6-3, 7-5.

Also on day two, American Vania King, France's Severine Bremond Beltrame and Russia's Regina Kulikova posted wins.

Second-seeded Sabine Lisicki withdrew because of an ankle injury she suffered at the US Open.

She was replaced in the draw by Russian Olga Puchkova, who was beaten Tuesday by Amra Sadikovic 6-4, 6-3.