"Overall it was a good fight,'' Mauresmo said. "It is always good to go out of these kinds of matches with a win. I am happy physically because I am fine coming out of this match.''
The former No. 1 player in the world and two-time Grand Slam singles champion dominated the first set, but struggled with her serve in the second, losing in the tiebreak. She regained her dominance in the final set, though she finished with 12 double faults, six in the second set.
The 29-year-old Mauresmo has been hampered by rib muscle and thigh injuries. After Serena Williams defeated her in the third round at Wimbledon in June, where Mauresmo won the championship in 2006, she did not play at all in July.
She did reach the semifinals at Cincinnati a week before the Pilot Pen. But she said regaining rhythm and confidence is never easy after a long layoff, especially at her age.
"I am definitely thinking the body is not holding as well as it used to,'' said Mauresmo, who has dropped to No. 33 in the world rankings after finishing last year at 17. "That's a fact and it is pretty frustrating, but that is the way it is.''
Third-seeded Marion Bartoli of France avoided an upset by rallying to beat Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the second round.
Coming back from a strained abdominal muscle, Bartoli wasn't sure she would play the Pilot Pen before getting medical clearance. She figured the court was the place to be with the U.S. Open less than a week away.
"I practiced here first and felt I could play,'' said Bartoli, ranked No. 13 in the world. "It is good to have matches before a Grand Slam.''
American Robby Ginepri continued his good play Tuesday, defeating 12th-seeded Augustin Calleri 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in a second-round match. The victory snapped a five-match losing streak against Argentine opponents and improved his North American hardcourt record to 4-3.
The 25-year-old Ginepri is a former top 20 player ranked No. 62 in the world. He is making his second appearance at the Pilot Pen. Last year, he lost to Calleri in the second round but now leads him 3-1 head-to-head.
In other second-round matches, Germany's Mischa Zverev upset fifth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3, 6-3, and eighth-seeded Mardy Fish held off fellow American Wayne Odesnik 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.
After losing in the first round in doubles last year, Lindsay Davenport rolled into the second round with Daniela Hantuchova on Tuesday, beating Jill Craybas and Olga Govortsova 6-3, 6-4.
"We both felt we could've done a couple of things better,'' said Davenport, who played with Lisa Raymond last year. "We tried to enjoy it and not take things seriously. Personally, it was better than last year to win that opening match.''
Davenport and Hantuchova, who plan to play together at the U.S. Open, took command in the seventh game of the final set. Davenport broke Craybas and Govortsova with a quick volley winner at the net.
Mauresmo struggles to victory at Pilot Pen
FALDO: LOSING WOODS WON’T HURT USA
Mauresmo struggles to victory at Pilot Pen
