EASTBOURNE, England — Amelie Mauresmo held off a strong challenge to defeat sixth-seeded Alize Cornet 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in an all-French matchup at the Eastbourne International today.

Mauresmo, the 2006 Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, dominated the opening set of the first-round match with some impressive backhand volleys and a succession of errors from Cornet.

But the 18-year old Cornet settled down in the second set. With Mauresmo struggling to put the ball away in many rallies, Cornet broke to lead 4-3.

Mauresmo had to fight off two break points at the beginning of the third set, but broke for the match when Cornet sent the ball long.

"The way I played in the first set was great," Mauresmo said. "I didn't keep that level up. I started to play a little bit more from the baseline and not being as aggressive as I was at the beginning. That put her back into the match and things got a little bit more even."

Svetlana Kuznetsova, Marion Bartoli, Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanska all have a bye into the second round.