Jill Craybas, United States, 7-6 (6-4), 6-2.Justine Henin, Belgium, def. You have to play the best." Against Smashnova, Rubin broke serve to win the second set. "I definitely didn't want to take it to a third set," Rubin said "It felt good to make it through the first round. I felt going in, on this surface, I had an advantage." Also Tuesday, Amy Frazier beat fellow American Marissa Irvin 6-1, 6-2; Dominique Van Roost of Belgium beat Russian Elena Likhovtseva 6-1, 6-2; and Sandrine Testud of France beat American qualifier Jill Craybas 7-6 (6-4), 6-2. After splitting the first two games in the second set, Van Roost broke serve to take a 2-1 lead and broke again to make it 5-2. The 19th-ranked Likhovtseva advanced to the second round of the Advanta tournament last year before losing to Germany's Steffi Graf, the eventual champion. Singles First Round Amy Frazier, United States, def. Rubin defeated Hingis in straight sets earlier this year. "I've played good against her," Rubin said "I've had some chances against her. The victory sends the 24th-ranked Rubin against top-ranked Martina Hingis in a second-round matchup.

Kournikova double-faulted at game point in the second game of the second set, allowing Henin to rally from 0-40 for a break to tie the set 1-1. Kournikova appeared to win the fourth game, but the baseline judge ruled a return by Henin did not cross the line. Kournikova, the crowd favorite from the outset, was visibly frustrated with several calls. In other action, American Chanda Rubin defeated Israel's Anna Smashnova 6-4, 6-4. "I thought I could play a good match, but I don't have the experience." In a 51-minute first set, Henin rallied from double set point to win the tiebreaker Henin broke serve at 3-3 as Kournikova double-faulted twice. "The big difference is that the putts have started to fall." The 36-year-old from Surrey has an added incentive to win this week as she is desperate to make it seven years in a row with a win on each side of the Atlantic. Davies is joined in the one million US dollars end-of-season tournament, which is restricted to the tour's top 30 money winners, by fellow Britons Janice Moodie, Catriona Matthew and Helen Dobson. All three have qualified for the first time despite failing to win this year, although the trio have enjoyed a string of top-10 finishes between them.. Twelfth-ranked Anna Kournikova lost to 70th-ranked Justine Henin of Belgium 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in the first round of the Advanta Championships in Villanova, Pennsylvania on Tuesday night. Kournikova struggled throughout with her serve, failing to hold serve four times in the second set. "I didn't think I could win," Henin, 17, said. Twelfth-ranked Anna Kournikova lost to 70th-ranked Justine Henin of Belgium 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in the first round of the Advanta Championships in Villanova, Pennsylvania on Tuesday night.

The field of 11 3-person teams started out under a bright sun with a slight haze lingering over the heavily forested hills that rim the scenic course. The golfer said his recent string of victories has not softened his desire to win in Taiwan. "Every time I tee up, I tee up to win," he said. "That's always been my goal since I was a little boy and that hasn't changed.". England's Laura Davies has won three times in Europe and once in Japan but is plotting a successful defence of the Tour Players' Championship in Las Vegas this week to make her season complete. England's Laura Davies has won three times in Europe and once in Japan but is plotting a successful defence of the Tour Players' Championship in Las Vegas this week to make her season complete. Fresh from finishing second in a Japanese event last week, the self-confessed gambler lines up in one of her favourite cities tomorrow aiming to repeat the form that clinched the title by four shots a year ago. "Last year I came into the event really low on confidence, but this year has been much better," said Davies, who banked £204,000 in winning the European number one title. My mother was very strict, as are moshim of Thailand. "I've always wanted to visit Taiwan and China and see the rich history," he said. Woods will probably be visiting the region more often in the future as his Tiger Woods Foundation expands into Asia. The foundation, which teaches golf to underprivileged children, will be setting up operations in Thailand soon, and may also hold programs in China and Japan, Woods said. "Maybe there will be a champion golfer, who knows," Woods said. After his news conference, the American teed off in a one-day, 18-hole tournament between teams of professionals and amateurs from clubs in Taiwan. The Classic is co-sanctioned by the Australian, Asian and European Professional Golf Associations. Other golfers have said the long course at Ta Shee would favor a powerful driver like Woods, but the 23-year-old golfer said that might not be the case. "The golf course is long on the scorecar are playing really fast," Woods said. Drives get so much bounce that some players known as long hitters have been handling the fairways in practice sessions with smaller clubs, such as nine irons and eight irons, even on par five holes, Woods said. Woods said competing in Asia is special because his mother is Thai and has ancestral ties to China. "For me, coming to Asia is like coming home," he said "I was raised under an Asian culture.

Last night I didn't sleep all that well," said Woods, adding that he was fortunate to have a late tee-off time. Woods' tournament victory in Spain was his fourth straight and eighth this season. He is defending his title in the $1.3 million Johnnie Walker Classic, which was held in Thailand last year. No one since Ben Hogan in 1953 has won four straight tournaments. Woods won the NEC Invitational, Disney Classic, Tour Championship and the World Golf Championship in Spain. However, a win in the Classic, which is not sanctioned by the US Professional Golf Association, will not count toward Woods' latest string of victories, which were all on the now-concluded PGA tour. We stopped in Dubai and Bangkok to get here," said Woods, who arrived on Tuesday after winning the American Express Championship in Sotogrande, Spain, on Sunday. "The time change hasn't been too hard to get over, but hard enough. Fatigued from a 20-hour flight and a grueling tournament schedule, a bleary-eyed Tiger Woods said today that his late tee off at the Johnnie Walker Classic will give him time to shake jet lag. On his first visit to Taiwan, Woods will try to extend his incredible four-tournament winning streak at the classic, which starts on Thursday at the Ta Shee Golf and Country Club in suburban Taipei. "It took us 20 hours to get here.

Woods completed 75 rounds with an adjusted scoring average of 68.43. David Duval was runner-up with a 69.17 average over 74 rounds. The previous best adjusted scoring mark of 68.81 was set by Greg Norman in 1994.. Fatigued from a 20-hour flight and a grueling tournament schedule, a bleary-eyed Tiger Woods said today that his late tee off at the Johnnie Walker Classic will give him time to shake jet lag. He is by far the world's best performer and by far the best in his sport of any No 1." * Tiger Woods has been named the winner of the Vardon Trophy for best scoring average on the US PGA Tour. "As we have seen today, the purses are increasing all the time on the European tour and I'll go along with that. "I seem to gain enough world ranking points here without having to go to America more My goal is to get to No 2 in the world.