By The Canadian Press

PHUKET, Thailand - Canada's Marie-Andree Lessard and Annie Martin split their opening matches Thursday at the Phuket Thailand Open beach volleyball tournament.

Lessard, of Ville LaSalle, Que., and Martin, of Sherbrooke, Que., opened with a 21-16, 17-21, 16-14 victory over the American duo of Lauren Fendrick and Ashley Ivy.

In their second match, the Canadians dropped a 21-15, 21-13 decision to Jen Kessy and April Ross of the United States.

Lessard and Martin will next play Shinako Tanaka and Hiromi Suzuki of Japan on Friday.

The US$190,000 tournament is the final stop on the World Tour circuit.