The 10th-seeded Ivanovic double-faulted 11 times and connected on just 41 percent of her first serves as the unseeded Safarova broke twice in the first set and then dominated the tiebreaker to advance to the second round.
Top-ranked Dinara Safina of Russia, the defending champion, and No. 2 seed Venus Williams both have first-round byes in the $2-million tournament, which features nine of the world's top 10 players.
In other first round matches, Russia's Alisa Kleybanova defeated Japan's Ayumi Morita 6-1, 6-4 and Gisela Dulko of Argentina cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 win over Agnes Szavay of Hungary.
Germany's Sabine Lisicki overpowered Switzerland's Patty Schnyder 6-4, 6-0, while Russia's Elena Vesnina advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain.
Primera Liga round-upShvedova, Peer advance at Tashkent Open
