China Open: No. 1s Djokovic, Serena advance

“It didn't surprise me,” Williams said. “I was definitely more surprised that I played so well in the open, but it was a different circumstance—even though the scoreline looked much easier at the open, it wasn't an easy match. But as for Francesca playing so well today, I wasn't surprised about that.”



Meanwhile, Venus Williams, a wild-card recipient like Schiavone, fell to Sabine Lisicki of Germany for the first time in four years, 6-1, 6-2. Lisicki didn't face a break point and broke Venus three times.

Djokovic will take on Fernando Verdasco in the second round after the Spaniard beat Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman 7-6 (6), 6-3.

Nadal's second-round opponent will be Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.

In other men's matches. fifth-seeded Richard Gasquet of France beat Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3, 7-6 (2); sixth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland overcame Andreas Seppi of Italy 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and eighth-seeded John Isner of United States beat local Di Wu 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3 after nearly two hours.

Former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki beat Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-3, 6-1 to remain on course to face Williams in the quarterfinals.