STRASBOURG (France), May 20: Peng Shuai ousted third seed Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania in Monday’s first round of the Strasbourg International tournament.The 22-year-old Chinese advanced with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win and will face top-seeded Marion Bartoli of France in the clay-court event billed as a warm-up to the French Open starting next week.
Defending champion Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain, the No 6 seed who beat France’s Amelie Mauresmo for the title last year, also advanced with a 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 victory over Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic.
Flavia Pennetta of Italy, the No 4 seed, defeated France’s Nathalie Dechy 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, while No 7 seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan toppled Ukraine’s Mariya Koryttseva 7-5, 7-5.
Monday’s results (prefix number denotes seeding):
First round: 4-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) bt Nathalie Dechy (France) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; 6-Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) bt Klara Zakopalova (Czech Republic) 7-6 (7-3), 7-5; Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (France) bt Camille Pin (France) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2; Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) bt Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2; 7-Ai Sugiyama (Japan) bt Mariya Koryttseva (Ukraine) 7-5, 7-5; Casey Dellacqua (Australia) bt Sara Errani (Italy) 7-5, 6-3; Peng Shuai (China) bt 3-Ioana Raluca Olaru (Romania) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).—Agencies
