ROME -- Anna Kournikova doesn't lose to players ranked outside the top 15. So she had no problem eliminating Virag Csurgo, ranked 240th by the WTA.

Kournikova, the 14th seed, needed just 53 minutes to ease into the second round of the Italian Open with a 6-0, 6-1 rain-interrupted victory against Csurgo.

"It was a quick match today," Kournikova said. "It was my first match on red clay this season and I felt good."

Anna Kournikova, the Italian Open's No. 14 seed, lost only one game Tuesday en route to a straight-set victory over Virag Csurgo. (Reuters)

SHE DICTATED THE PACE against the Hungarian wild-card entrant with stinging groundstrokes and the occasional rush to the net. The match was held up at 3-0 in the first set by a four-hour rain delay, and Kournikova said she passed the time by studying Spanish.

"The rain didn't bother me at all. I knew we could have continued tomorrow," said Kournikova, who hasn't lost to a player ranked lower than 15th since the beginning of last year.

The Russian has made great strides in 1998, lifting her ranking from 32 to 16 and reaching her first final at Key Biscayne in March.

THE FELLOW TEEN-AGER WHO BEAT her for that title, No. 9 seed Venus Williams, also advanced Tuesday, powering past Yayuk Basuki, 6-2, 6-3. Williams' younger sister, 16-year-old Serena, claimed the first upset of a seed, eliminating No. 11 Nathalie Tauziat 7-5, 6-0.

The siblings, who had been slated to make their European clay debuts Monday before rain washed out the day's entire schedule, could meet in the quarterfinals.

Three lower seeds advanced Tuesday, while the top eight received first-round byes.

Sandrine Testud, seeded 12th, ousted Italy's Laura Golarsa 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the opening match on center court, No. 13 Dominique Van Roost had no trouble in her 6-4, 6-2 victory against Karina Habsudova of Slovakia, while No. 15 Lisa Raymond spotted France's Anne-Gaelle Sidot a set before winning 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Raymond's next opponent is fellow American Anne Miller, a qualifier who beat Italy's Rita Grande 6-3, 6-0.

MIRJANA LUCIC, THE 15-YEAR-OLD CROAT who won the Bol Ladies Open on Sunday, outlasted Sandra Cacic of the United States 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-2).

"Today was a little bit difficult mentally because it was hard to wait all day," Lucic said. "It started drizzling in the middle of the second set so I rushed a bit and lost that set."

While the group of top teen-agers continued to impress, one former young star's latest comeback attempt suffered another lapse as Jennifer Capriati lost 6-3, 6-2 to Romania's Ruxandra Dragomir.

Elsewhere, Jana Kandarr fought back for a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) victory against Florencia Labat. Kandarr, ranked 114th by the WTA, next faces French Open champion Iva Majoli.

China's Fang Li got past Olga Barabanschikova 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, and will play No. 1 Martina Hingis in the second round.

Other winners Tuesday included France's Sarah Pitkowski and Alexandra Fusai, Barbara Schett of Austria, Japan's Naoko Sawamtasu, South Africa's Joanette Kruger and Italy's Silvia Farina.

JANA NOVOTNA IS SEEDED SECOND, FOLLOWED BY Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, defending champion Mary Pierce of France, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain, Monica Seles of the United States, who won this event in 1990 and reached the final in 1991-92, four-time champion Conchita Martinez of Spain, and Majoli.

Pierce ended Martinez' four-year reign with a 6-4, 6-0 victory in last year's final.

Lindsay Davenport of the United States and Anke Huber of Germany are the only players from the Top 20 missing. Davenport does not begin her preparation for the French Open until next week in Berlin, while Huber is recovering from knee surgery.

Former world No. 1 Steffi Graf of Germany withdrew last week. Graf, who won here in 1987, has played just two tournaments since undergoing knee surgery last June. The current issue of the Germany magazine Focus says that Graf has pulled out of the French Open and the preceding tournaments. She is planning to return in time for Wimbledon but told Focus, "If I can't establish any continuity in my practice or tournament schedule, I will give up. I've had enough of turning in circles."

First prize is $150,000. The women's event runs until Sunday. The men's tournament begins on May 11 and runs until the following Sunday.