ROME -- Serena Williams and Monica Seles overcame challenges from unlikely sources Tuesday at the Italian Open.

Williams, the defending champion at the clay-court tournament, had her serve broken twice in the first set but still managed to beat Czech qualifier Klara Koukalova 6-4, 6-3.

	Monica Seles needed three sets to advance on Tuesday.

Seles, meanwhile, had to rally for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory against 46th-ranked Myriam Casanova.

Williams is tuning up to defend her French Open title, but she looked rusty at times against Koukalova, losing nine straight points in one stretch during the first set.

Later, though, Williams broke Koukalova to go up 5-3 in the second set and served out the match with an ace.

"She was striking it well and very deep," Williams said. "Some of her balls were off the line. That was good practice for me. The next match I'll be ready for the pace as well as the slow ball."

The 10th-seeded Seles appeared stunned by Casanova's powerful strokes in the first set, then mounted a comeback.

"She just came out and was hitting the ball very hard," Seles said. "It took me awhile to adjust to that."

Seles, the Italian Open champion in 1990 and 2000, received constant encouragement from the Foro Italico crowd. After the match, a group of fans clad in U.S. flags presented the nationalized American with a dozen red roses.

"I've really got some amazing fans here,'' Seles said. "They've been with me since 1990."

Casanova, a Swiss player making her Rome debut, came up with a string of aces and winners in the first set. But as the match wore on, Seles began to win longer rallies.

Three other seeded players advanced Tuesday.

The 11th-seeded Magdalena Maleeva beat Silvia Farina Elia 6-4, 6-4, No. 12 Eleni Daniilidou eliminated Samantha Reeves of the United States 6-2, 6-4, and No. 13 Ai Sugiyama topped Paola Suarez 6-2, 6-3.

Three other Americans lost, including sixth-seeded Chanda Rubin, who was defeated by Emilie Loit of France 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain beat Meilen Tu 6-4, 6-4, and Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia beat Alexandra Stevenson 6-1, 6-1.

Nathalie Dechy of France beat No. 14 Amanda Coetzer of South Africa 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4).