Bartoli gets closer to become one of eight in Doha after straight sets win on Day 2 in Osaka

No. 2 seed Marion Bartoli was victorious in straight sets on Day 2 in Osaka, as the Frenchwoman beat Galina Voskoboeva, and improved her chances at ending up in the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.

Bartoli beat her Kazakh opponent for the fourth time in their four encounters, but this one was harder than the other three, as Bartoli was down 2-5 before coming back to win the match with a score of 63 75.

Other seeded winners Tuesday were top seed and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki, No. 3 seed Samantha Stosur and No. 6 seed Aleksandra Wozniak. Among the unseeded match-ups, 2002 champion Jill Craybas edged wildcard Kimiko Date Krumm, 62 26 64. Date Krumm, a four-time champion at this event, was victorious in Seoul last month for her first Tour singles title since 1996 and the first of her comeback that began in April of last year.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Singles - First Round

(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Ayumi Morita (JPN) 64 61

(2) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 63 75

(3) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (LL) Alexandra Panova (RUS) 62 64

(6) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) d. (Q) Sophie Ferguson (AUS) 61 75

Vania King (USA) d. Julie Coin (FRA) 26 63 64

Jill Craybas (USA) d. (WC) Kimiko Date Krumm (JPN) 62 26 64

Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) d. Carly Gullickson (USA) 61 61

Akiko Morigami (JPN) d. (Q) Anastasia Rodionova (RUS) 64 46 62

(Q) Chang Kai-Chen (TPE) d. Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 75 61

(WC) Kurumi Nara (JPN) d. (Q) Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) 76(5) 46 62

Four of five seeds in action advance; losing seed gets ousted by qualifier on Day 2 in Austria

Flavia Pennetta made a fabulous start to her Generali Ladies Linz campaign Tuesday, routing Meghann Shaughnessy , 61 61, in the first round of the International-level tournament.

Pennetta, seeded No. 1 this week, lost the first game of the match at love on Shaughnessy's serve but barely looked back from there, winning 12 of the next 13 games - and holding four game points in the only game she didn't win.

"The first round is tough. You need to get used to the conditions," Pennetta said. "Meghann is a good player. She was really good but has been out with injuries. I played really consistently. I could have been more aggressive; it's tough because the court is slow and the balls are heavy, but I'll work on that."

The other seeds in action were almost all winners, with No. 5 seed Iveta Benesova, No. 7 seed Lucie Safarova and No. 8 seed Sara Errani all moving through in straight sets. No. 6 seed Sorana Cirstea was the only casualty, losing to qualifier Julia Georges in straight sets, 63 63.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Singles - First Round

(1) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Meghann Shaughnessy (USA) 61 61

(5) Iveta Benesova (CZE) d. (Q) Stephanie Gehrlein (GER) 75 60

(Q) Julia Goerges (GER) d. (6) Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 63 63

(7) Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. (WC) Patricia Mayr (AUT) 62 61

(8) Sara Errani (ITA) d. Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) 62 63

Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) d. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 75 61

Olga Govortsova (BLR) d. (Q) Petra Martic (CRO) 62 67(7) 62

Tatjana Malek (GER) d. (Q) Aravane Rezai (FRA) 75 75

Mirza through after three set win to Peer on Day 1 in Osaka

Two of the three seeds in first round action at the HP Open went down on Monday, including one of the hottest players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

Prior to September, Shahar Peer had not won a Tour singles title in three years, but then she captured Guangzhou and Tashkent in consecutive weeks without dropping a set, to go from No. 64 in the world at the start of September to No. 34 at the start of October. She fell to No. 38 after losing in the first round in Beijing last week, and then repeated that result Monday, as Sania Mirza edged the fifth-seeded Israeli, 36 63 64.

In other main draw matches Monday, No. 4 seed Francesca Schiavone and No. 7 seed Melinda Czink advanced, but No. 8 seed Yaroslava Shvedova was outlasted by Mathilde Johansson.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Singles - First Round

(4) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Anne Kremer (LUX) 75 62

Sania Mirza (IND) d. (5) Shahar Peer (ISR) 36 63 64

7) Melinda Czink (HUN) vs. (WC) Ryoko Fuda (JPN) 64 64

Mathilde Johansson (FRA) d. (8) Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 75 26 75

Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) d. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 62 ret. (knee injury)

Katie O'Brien (GBR) d. Alexa Glatch (USA) 63 64

First day in Austria kicks off with good start for seed

The first round kicked off at the Generali Ladies Linz on Monday, and the only seed in action - Carla Suárez Navarro - prevailed, beating Katarina Srebotnik in a tight-finishing two-setter at night.

Suárez Navarro, the No.4 seed, raced out to a 62 41 lead over Srebotnik, who was ranked in the Top 20 at this point last year but is working her way back up the rankings after missing the first eight months of the year due to injuries. The Slovenian won three of the next four games to close to 62 54 and won the first point on her serve in that 10th game of the second set but would fall, 62 64.

Winners in other first round matches were Petra Kvitova, Urszula Radwanska and Ioana Raluca Olaru.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Singles - First Round

(4) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) 62 64

Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. Andrea Petkovic (GER) 61 64

Urszula Radwanska (POL) d. (WC) Yvonne Meusburger (AUT) 76(6) 61

Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU) d. Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 62 26 61