Former Champion Dash Thai Hope

Shahar Peer of Israel

The 2006 champion kept the Thai teenager at her heels with deep and flat groundstrokes to beat the local wildcard entrant 6-1 6-0 in front of a handful crowd in the evening.

 "I was nervous on the court because she used to be in the top 20 and was a champion in 2006. She was playing unbelievably which pushed me to take some risks. But I went for it too much and missed,'' said Noppawan who was well aware she still had many aspects to fix.

 "To turn professional, I have to move better and work harder on my groundstrokes. When I moved her, she could run down the shot, but when she attacked me, I wasn't fast enough,'' the 17-year-old player who will play small events in New Zealand next month. - By Lerpong Amsa-ngiam