ROME (AP) -- Jennifer Capriati doesn't think losing her debut at the Italian Open will hurt her chances in Paris.
``I'll get some rest time now to recuperate for the French,'' Capriati said after losing to Hungary's Rita Kuti Kis 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
When asked who she thought had the best chance to win the French. ``I think myself,'' she said shrugging.
``I feel good. I'm not going to let this loss hurt my confidence,'' said Capriati, who won the Australian Open in January.
The second-seeded American came out crushing the ball against Kuti Kis on Foro Italico's red clay Wednesday night before a string of double faults in the third game of the second set led to her collapse.
An array of unforced errors and a blister on her foot all but handed the set to the WTA Tour's 62nd-ranked Kuti Kis.
Capriati, who reached the final in Berlin last week, fought back in the third set to reach a tiebreaker. She saved two match points, but Kuti Kis' precise shotmaking proved too much.
``I think she played really well, maybe one of the best matches she's played,'' said Capriati.
The Hungarian will play 14th-seeded Jelena Dokic in the third round. Dokic came under fire during the Australian Open in January when she lost her first round match to Kuti Kis and then ungraciously insisted that her opponent ``is not a player and never will be a player.''
Other matches slated for Thursday include top-seeded Martina Hingis against Russian Elena Likhovtseva and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario against another Russian, Lina Krasnoroutskaya.
Sanchez-Vicario rolled into the third round of the Italian Open, beating Germany's Bianka Lamade on Wednesday in a tournament the Spanish clay-court star has never won.
Sanchez-Vicario cruised on Foro Italico's red clay 6-2, 6-3, disposing of Lamade in 77 minutes.
``The first match is always the most difficult,'' the 29-year-old Spaniard admitted. ``I feel very comfortable with how I'm playing.''
The top eight seeded players all received first-round byes in the $1.185 million tournament.
A three-time French Open champion, with 27 career tournament wins, Sanchez-Vicario has never conquered an Italian title. Twice she reached the final, losing to Argentina's Gabriela Sabatini in 1989 and fellow Spaniard Conchita Martinez in 1995.
``Sure, you come each time hoping to do well,'' said the seventh-seeded Spaniard. ``I have to take it match by match, but I'll try to see if this year can be the year.''
This won't be the year for Nathalie Tauziat or Magdalena Maleeva, as both seeded players fell in their first match of the tournament.
In second-round matches, France's Tauziat, seeded fifth, was knocked out by South Africa's Joannette Kruger 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 and Italian Francesca Schiavone downed Bulgaria's Maleeva, seeded eighth, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (1).
Another Frenchwoman, fourth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo, outgunned Spain's Angeles Montolio 7-6 (7), 6-3.
The 21-year-old Mauresmo is coming off her fourth title of the year, having beaten Capriati last week at the German Open.
Mauresmo, who lost in the final here last year, will try later this month to follow the example of Mary Pierce, who last year was the first Frenchwoman to win the title at Roland Garros since 1967.
``I'll have a week off to get as fresh as possible before the French,'' Mauresmo said after her match.
Earlier, Dokic advanced in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over Patty Schnyder of Switzerland while Argentina's Paola Suarez beat Anne Kremer of Luxembourg 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (6).
Other second-round winners Wednesday included Gala Leon Garcia of Spain and Denisa Chladkova of the Czech Republic. Chladkova advanced when 13th-seeded American Meghann Shaughnessy pulled out before their second-round match.
