|
|
|
| October 12, 2005 | Wednesday | Ramzan 7, 1426 |
Kuznetsova cruises home
MOSCOW, Oct 11: Eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova breezed into the second round of the Kremlin Cup with a 6-0 6-4 win over Swiss qualifier Emmanuelle Gagliardi on Tuesday.
Seventh seed Alicia Molik became the first seed to lose at the $2.3 million tournament, going down to fellow Australian Samantha Stosur 6-3 6-2 in just over an hour.
Molik, who missed several months this year after suffering from a virus that upset her balance, had trouble finding her range as she committed 33 unforced errors in a 63-minute match.
Russia’s Dinara Safina and up-and-coming Bulgarian Sesil Karatancheva had no such problems, winning their first-round matches in straight sets.
Safina, the youger sister of Australian Open champion Marat Safin, beat experienced Italian Silvia Farina Elia 6-1 7-5 while 16-year-old Karatantcheva dismissed Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic 6-2 6-1 in just 46 minutes.
Safina will now face unseeded Stosur and Karatantcheva takes on fourthseeded Elena Dementieva, who received a bye in the opening round.
Despite a little hiccup early in the second set, the muscular Kuznetsova had too much power for a slender Gagliardi, ranked a lowly 107, as she wrapped up the match in 74 minutes.
Results:
Men (first round): Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) bt Kenneth Carlsen (DEN) 6-1, 1-0 retired; Andrei Pavel (ROM) bt Stephane Bohli (SUI) 6-4, 6-4; Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) bt Gilles Muller (LUX) 6-3, 6-1; Paul Goldstein (USA) bt Mikhail Ledovskikh (RUS) 6-2, 6-4; Filippo Volandri (ITA) bt Razvan Sabau (ROM) 6-1, 6-1.
Women: Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) bt Emmanuelle Gagliardi (ITA) 6-0, 6-4; Kveta Peschke (CZE) bt Evgenia Linetskaya (RUS) 6-2, 6-2; Dinara Safina (RUS) bt Silvia Farina Elia (ITA) 6-1, 7-5; Francesca Schiavone (ITA) bt Iveta Benesova (CZE) 6-3, 6-2; Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) bt Virginie Razzano (FRA) 3-6, 7-5, 6-1; Flavia Pennetta (ITA) bt Nathalie Dechy (FRA) 6-3, 7-5; Samantha Stosur (AUS) bt Alicia Molik (AUS) 6-3, 6-2; Sesil Karatancheva (BUL) bt Jelena Jankovic (SEM) 6-2, 6-1.
BANGKOK: Former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez booked a place in the second round of the 200,000-dollar PTT Thailand Open WTA tournament late Tuesday after beating local star Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-3, 6-2.
The sixth seed won the first set in 33 minutes, and took the second just as easily as Tamarine made numerous unforced errors in the second in 41 minutes before the Spaniard claimed victory after four match points.
Martinez said after the match she did not feel pressure, despite the local, vocal crowd favouring Tamarine.
India’s teenage sensation Sania Mirza breezed through her first round match against Henrieta Nagyova from Slovakia in one hour and 20 minutes to win 6-1, 4-6, 6-0.
Results:
Singles (first round): Conchita Martinez (ESP) bt Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 6-3, 6-2; Sania Mirza (IND) bt Henrieta Nagyova (SVK) 6-1, 4-6, 6-0; Saori Obata (JPN) bt Mashona Washington (USA) 6-2, 6-3; Gisela Dulko (ARG) bt Jamea Jackson (USA) 6-4, 7-5; Shenay Perry (USA) bt Ana Timotic (SCG) 7-6 (7/4), 6-1; Antonella Serra Zanetti (ITA) bt Shinobu Asagoe (JPN) 7-6 (7/2), 6-4; Stephanie Foretz (FRA) bt Martina Muller (GER) 6-2, 6-0; Suchanan Viratprasert (THA) bt Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) 6-2, 7-6 (7/1); Catalina Castano (COL) bt Maria Vento-Kabchi (VEN) 6-3, 6-2; Melinda Czink (HUN) bt Tathiana Garbin (ITA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.—Agencies
|
|
|
|
