German Andrea Petkovic started her title defence campaign on a brighter note in the Nürnberger Gastein Ladies opener by easily defeating the out-of-form Czech Iveta Benesova with a 6-4 6-0 scoreline. Petkovic recovered well from a shaky start and did not allow Benesova to get any sort of advantage in the crucial stages of the match. 

After the match, Petkovic said, "in the beginning I felt quite insecure and was nervous, because it's the first time I've been the defending champion." She further added, "but I tried to stay calm because I knew that with the altitude, the balls really fly in the beginning if you're going for your shots. After I'd won the first set while not playing my best, I gained in confidence and the standard improved."

In the second-round, Petkovic will play Timea Bacsinszky who defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld with a 6-1 6-2 scoreline.  On the other hand, fourth-seeded Czech Klara Zakopalova was defeated by Julia Goerges of Germany with a 6-2 5-7 6-1. Russia's Anastasia Pivovarova defeated the Austrian no.1 Sybille Bammer with a 7-6(10) 6-3 scoreline.

Bammer lamented, "She was the better player and deserved to win.  I knew in advance that I couldn't show my best tennis here - I knew I'd struggle with the altitude." The Italian Tathiana Garbin defeated Pauline Parmentier with a 3-6 6-3 6-1 scoreline.