2008 Rome Open second round results 

Only four matches were played at the 2008 Rome Open clay court tennis tournament yesterday as heavy rain forced the cancellation of the second day of play.

The first match of the day saw Austrian Sybille Bammer knocked out of the tournament by Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Azarenka put in a clinical performance to defeat the 19th seed 6-1, 6-3. The victory moved Azarkena to 19th position on the WTA points table.

Italian fans were given cause for celebration when Roberta Vinci earned herself passage to the second round by defeating Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.

In other first round action Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova defeated Argentinean player Gisela Dulko 7-6, 6-4. Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetsana Pironkova also progressed through to the second round by defeating Czech qualifier Klara Zakopalova 6-4, 6-2.

The rain saw matches for both of the Williams sisters cancelled, and these will now be played on Wednesday. Seventh-seeded Venus will take on Samantha Stosur while fifth-seeded Serena takes on Alona Bondarenko in first round fixtures.

Fans can also look forward to seeing top seeded players Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic in action, with both players scheduled to play their first round fixtures on Wednesday.