BASTAD (Sweden), July 8 Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark advanced to the second round of the Swedish Open on Tuesday after beating Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-1, 6-3.


The ninth-ranked Wozniacki broke Arvidsson twice in the first set and once in the second to complete the win in 1 hour, 3 minutes. Wozniacki, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last week, saved all three break points she faced on the clay.


Also on Tuesday, second-seeded Dominika Cibulkova beat Swedish wild card Sandra Roma 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, while No. 3 Flavia Pennetta beat fellow Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 7-5.


Maria Kirilenko of Russia and 15-year-old Ellen Allgurin of Sweden also advanced with straight-set wins, while Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic won after Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine retired with a right wrist injury when trailing 6-3, 4-1.


Results (prefix number denotes seeding)


First round Masa Zec Peskiric (Slovenia) bt Michaela Johansson (Sweden) 6-2, 6-0; 1-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) bt Sofia Arvidsson (Sweden) 6-1, 6-3; Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) bt Julia Vakulenko (Ukraine) 6-3, 4-1 (Vakulenko retired); Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain) bt 4-Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) 6-1, 7-6(1);

 

Angelique Kerber (Germany) bt Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Czech Republic) 7-5, 6-4; 2-Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) bt Sandra Roma (Sweden) 6-3, 2-6, 6-1; Ellen Allgurin (Sweden) beat Ksenia Palkina (Kyrgyzstan) 6-4, 6-4; Nuria Llagostera Vives (Spain) bt Ayumi Morita (Japan) 4-6, 6-0, 6-2; 3-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) bt Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 6-2, 7-5; Maria Kirilenko (Russia) bt Irina Buryachok (Ukraine) 6-0, 6-4.

 

RAIN HALTS PLAY


NEWPORT (Rhode Island) Heavy rain halted the only three matches that began at the Hall of Fame Championships on Tuesday, ending play before two-time defending champion Fabrice Santoro got onto the grass court.


The start of action was delayed for about 2 hours before three matches began.


After a second delay of approximately 90 minutes, play resumed for just over 20 minutes before thunderstorms halted play for the day.


Seventh-seeded Kevin Kim of the United States lost the first set against Sebastien Grosjean of France 6-4, and play was stopped during the first game of the second set.
Results
First round Sebastien Grosjean (France) leads 7-Kevin Kim (US) 6-4, 0-0 (40-40), suspended, rain; 6-Philipp Petzschner (Germany) leads Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) 6-4, 3-4, suspended, rain; Sam Groth (Australia) leads Ricardo Mello (Brazil) 7-5, 0-3, suspended, rain.

 

CORNET MOVES AHEAD


BUDAPEST (Hungary) Second-seeded Alize Cornet of France defeated Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-1 on Tuesday in the first round of the Budapest Grand Prix.


Cornet, the defending champion, took a 4-2 lead in the first set, and finished off the match by winning the last four games in the second.


Results


First round Tathiana Garbin (Italy) bt Sharon Fichman (Canada) 6-1, 6-4; Raluca Olaru (Romania) bt Greta Arn (Hungary) 6-2, 6-2; Patricia Mayr (Austria) bt Margalita Chakhnashvili (Georgia) 6-0, 7-5; Shahar Peer (Israel) bt Irina Begu (Romania) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4; Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine) bt Lenka Jurikova (Slovakia) 6-3, 1-6, 6-4; 4-Agnes Szavay (Hungary) bt Katalin Marosi (Hungary) 6-1, 6-1; Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) bt 7-Sara Errani (Italy) 5-7, 6-4, 6-0; Petra Martic (Croatia) bt 8-Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 7-6(5), 6-0; Mariya Koryttseva (Ukraine) bt Anna Lapushchenkova (Russia) 6-4, 6-2; 2-Alize Cornet (France) bt Galina Voskoboeva (Kazakhstan) 6-3, 6-1; 5-Alisa Kleybanova (Russia) bt Monica Niculescu (Romania) 6-0, 6-3; 3-Sybille Bammer (Austria) bt Klara Zakopalova (Czech Republic) 6-2, 6-3.


—Agencies

Opinion

Editorial

Afghan strikes
Updated 24 Feb, 2026

Afghan strikes

IN the wake of the recent wave of terrorist attacks targeting Pakistan, with most of the atrocities linked to ...
Tug of war
24 Feb, 2026

Tug of war

THE timing may be questioned, but the issue is not new. The PPP and the MQM-P are once again engaging in their old...
Easier CNIC access
24 Feb, 2026

Easier CNIC access

NADRA’S decision to issue CNICs to first-time applicants without requiring them to produce a birth certificate is ...
Hollow applause
Updated 23 Feb, 2026

Hollow applause

The current account turnaround, though largely driven by import compression, rising remittances and bilateral debt rollovers, has eased external pressures.
Delayed appointment
23 Feb, 2026

Delayed appointment

THE recent appointment of a chief election commissioner for Azad Jammu & Kashmir has once again shone a ...
Fragile equilibrium
23 Feb, 2026

Fragile equilibrium

PAKISTAN is not short of food. It is short of resilience. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification...