El Tabakh El of Oakville, Ontario, defeated top-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round.

'I'm very satisfied,' said El Tabakh, 22. 'I did a lot better than I thought I would coming into the tournament. I knew (my opponents) were better ranked than I am so I had nothing to lose and I just went for it.'

The other remaining Canadian in the qualifying draw, Sharon Fichman of Toronto, fell to Wickmayer of Belgium 6-3, 6-2.

Also through to the main draw are seasoned campaigners Julie Coin, Maria Kirilenko, and Maria Rybarikova.

Sania will play in the doubles with her new partner Francesca Schiavone of Italy and their first-round opponents are Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia.