Henin makes winning start

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The world number one saw off her Russian opponent 6-1 7-6 (7/4) at the indoor hardcourt event to register an opening victory in the Yellow Group, which also contains Serbian Jelena Jankovic and Serena Williams from the United States.

Henin dominated the opening set collecting two breaks and converting nine of 10 first-serve points.

Seventh seed Chakvetadze hit back in the second set to take a 2-0 lead before the Belgian rallied and emerged triumphant from a tie-break to extend her unbeaten run to 21 games after the 25-year-old's third career victory over her opponent.

The event is new ground for the 20-year-old Chakvetadze, who broke into the top 10 for the first time this season by winning four titles and enjoying a productive summer hardcourt season.

Sixth seed Maria Sharapova also made a winning start with a 6-4 7-5 victory over Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova in the Red Group.

Sharapova, who has endured a frustrating season with injury and won her only title of 2007 in San Diego, has now beaten the eighth-seeded Hantuchova in six of their seven meetings.

In the only other match, number four seed Ana Ivanovic celebrated her 20th birthday by edging out second-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1 4-6 7-5 in the Red Group.

The Serbian now has won all three meetings between the two this season, including the Berlin Open final.