Pin, who is ranked 78th on the WTA Tour, said she focused on keeping the 57th-ranked Makarova off-balance by changing tempo in the first meeting between the two.
"I knew she was a tough player,'' said Pin. "When I watched her play, I knew there were certain ways she liked to play, and I tried not going to where she liked.''
In other first-round matches of the $175,000 tournament, 92nd-ranked Nathalie Dechy beat No. 102 Olivia Sanchez 6-2, 6-2 in an all-France battle, and 107th-ranked Julie Ditty of the United States upset 96th-ranked Meng Yuan of China 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The 26-year-old Pin lost to seventh-seeded Akiko Morigami in the first round of last year's Cincinnati tournament in a three-set match that went to tiebreakers in the last two sets.
"I knew I could win here,'' she said. "Last year, I got to match point, and Morigami went to the finals.''
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