EASTBOURNE, England -- Mary Pierce couldn't overcome illness or Japan's Ai Sugiyama as she was beaten 6-4, 6-4 Monday in the first round of the Eastbourne grass-court tournament.

Pierce, who reached the quarterfinals of the French Open last month, said she was bothered by a virus and should have stayed in.

"My fitness is getting better, but unfortunately I got sick," she said. "It's affecting my nose and throat, some kind of virus. I didn't want to get out of bed this morning. I feel a little bit tired but I'm trying to do my best."

In the only other singles match on opening day, last year's semifinalist Anne Kremer edged Nathalie Dechy 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to set up a meeting with No. 2 seed Sandrine Testud.

Nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova, playing her first singles tournament in eight years, is scheduled to face Tatiana Panova on Tuesday.

Top-seeded Jelena Dokic and No. 2 Sandrine Testud have byes in the Wimbledon tuneup tournament.

Pierce, once ranked No. 3 but now at 74 after missing most of the past two years with injuries, only showed brief flashes of the skills that earned her three Grand Slam singles titles.

Sugiyama broke for a 2-1 lead in the first set. Pierce held off a set point at 5-3 with a forehand winner before Sugiyama served out the set.

Sugiyama went up 2-1 in the second set after breaking Pierce's serve. Although Pierce broke back in the next game, a netted forehand gave Sugiyama another break for a 3-2 advantage.

Pierce held off two match points on her own serve at 5-3 before Sugiyama closed out the victory.

"I'm not really disappointed," Pierce said. "Of course I want to win, but it's my first match on grass in two years. At the beginning I felt very awkward. But it wasn't that bad, and the more I play on it the more I'll get used to it."