Losing a Grand Slam final isn't the end of the world-it only feels that way.

Lindsay Davenport says it will take some time to get over her loss to Serena Williams in the Australian Open final, but meanwhile, she's off to a quick start in her quest for a third straight Toray Pan Pacific Open title.

``I still feel worn down,'' said Davenport, who defeated Saori Obata 6-3, 6-4 Thursday in her first match since dropping the Open final, in which she won the first set only to drop the next two.

``I had one of the biggest lapses of my career. Losses like those are the toughest to get over. It will take a couple more weeks to get it out of my system,'' said the world No. 1.

Davenport now advances to the quarterfinals of the 135 million yen event. She'll face Iveta Benesova today at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

``I started off well, but by the second set I wasn't serving as well,'' Obata said. ``You can't find your rhythm if you aren't serving well. Lindsay's serves were coming in deep and I couldn't hit deep returns.

``But today's match gives me some things to think about. After winning my first match, I can feel some confidence returning.''

Akiko Morigami and Aiko Nakamura were also eliminated Thursday, leaving Shinobu Asagoe as the lone Japanese still alive in singles play.

Usually a model of decorum, Davenport lost her cool for a second leading 5-3 in the first set, tossing her racket after gassing a series of set points and dropping the game.

``Oh, really?'' Davenport deadpanned, when an astute observer informed her that she appeared to be a wee bit out of sorts at that juncture. ``Well, I had about eight set points (actually five) and I lost them all, so, yeah, I was a bit frustrated.

``This is a tough surface to get used to (a very fast surface called Toray Spuckturf). It's weird. Sometimes it's tough to decide which shot to hit. It's a matter of getting used to it.''

Asagoe thrashed Roberta Vinci-the less than formidable Italian who ousted No. 5 seed Ai Sugiyama on Tuesday-in two quick sets, 6-2, 6-2.

``I was amazingly aggressive today,'' said Asagoe, who is normally just the opposite.

She must have been taking notes while Vinci dismantled Sugiyama, for she wasn't surprised by anything Vinci served up.

``I knew what to expect and was able to use that to my advantage,'' Asagoe said. ``Plus, I was able to move better than I was in my first match and I was more effective with my serve.''

Asagoe meets No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva in another quarterfinal today. Dementieva breezed by Morigami 6-2, 6-2.

A gambling man would have to bet the farm on Dementieva, who was runner-up in the French and U.S. Opens last year and is ranked seventh in the world.

``I reached two slam finals and I know what it takes now,'' the 23-year-old Russian said. ``I think this could be the year (I win one).

``I've improved a lot in the last year, but I still have room for improvement, especially on my serve.''

Dementieva was broken in her first service game in both sets, but apart from those letdowns she was nearly flawless.

``I got off to a slow start, but I was confident I could win. It was just a matter of finding my rhythm,'' she said.

In other matches, No. 6 seed Elena Likhovtseva needed three sets to slip past Jill Craybas, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, Benesova needed three to down Nakamura 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 and Daniela Hantuchova also went the distance, prevailing 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 over Maria Kirilenko.

Likhovtseva meets defending Wimbledon champion and No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova in today's first match at 1 p.m., followed by Asagoe vs. Dementieva, Davenport vs. Benesova and Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Hantuchova.(IHT/Asahi: February 4,2005)