New Haven, Connecticut: Two-time major champion Amelie Mauresmo got off to a quick start at the WTA Pilot Pen tournament, stopping Japanese ace Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 6-1 in the first round on Monday.
In the final US Open tune-up event, Mauresmo moves on to face the winner of a match between American Meghann Shaughnessy and Alona Bondarenko.
The eighth-seeded Mauresmo needed 80 minutes to dispatch Sugiyama, hammering three aces and winning 68% of her first-serve points. She also committed seven double faults.
The former world number one Mauresmo was a New Haven runner-up in 2005.
Sugiyama won 33% of her first serve points and converted just three of 13 break-point chances on the hardcourts at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale University.
France’s Virginie Razzano followed Mauresmo into the second round by beating Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
In other matches, fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland rallied to beat Italian qualifier Roberta Vinci 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) and Czech Iveta Benesova overcame American lucky-loser Varvara Lepchenko 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. - AFP |
