KOLKATA, Sept 18: Russian Ekaterina Ivanova and Australia’s Casey Dellacqua eased through on the opening day of the 175,000-dollar WTA tour event here on Monday.

Dellacqua beat Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak in a little more than an hour 6-2, 6-3, while Ivanova was stretched to three sets by Britain’s Naomi Cavaday before easing through 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

The first match of the day saw a baseline slugfest between British qualifier Cavaday and Ivanova, who made the most of the unforced errors by her rival.

Cavaday’s huge forehand was wayward and the Brit also failed to capitalise on a clutch of break points that came her way in the first set. In the second, Cavaday got a better hold on her first serves and clinched the set 6-2.

But in the third, Ivanova controlled the pace of the game and Cavaday once again slipped into committing errors. From 0-2 down in the final set, Ivanova romped home 6-2.

Dellacqua’s match turned out to be a one-sided affair, with very little drama.

Slovakia’s Jarmila Gajdosova beat Youlia Fedossova of France 6-3, 6-4 in the third match.

Meanwhile, organisers said India’s Sania Mirza has pulled out of the tournament with a wrist injury.

Sania, 20, who reached the final last year, has not played since the US Open because of the injury.

Home fans had hoped the world number 27 would add to the Hyderabad Open she won in 2005 when Sania became the first Indian to claim a WTA title.

“I’m very upset that this injury is keeping me away from the courts,” she said in a statement. “My fans have always been very supportive and I was keen to perform well in Kolkata.”

France’s Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli is the top seed for the tournament which concludes with the final on Saturday.

Monday’s results:

First Round: Casey Dellacqua (AUS) bt Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 6-2, 6-3; Ekaterina Ivanova (RUS) bt Naomi Cavaday (GBR) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2; Jarmila Gajdosova (SVK) bt Youlia Fedossova (FRA) 6-3, 6-4; Maria Kirilenko (RUSx4) bt Neha Uberoi (US) 6-2, 6-2; Yung-Jan Chan (TPE) bt Kyra Shroff (IND) 6-0, 6-0.—Agencies