Serena Williams barged past Lucie Hradecka in straight sets to reach the second round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Williams needed one hour and 39 minutes to complete her 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory and book a second-round tie against Samantha Stosur, whom she beat in the Toronto final. Stosur beat qualifier Eleni Daniilidou 6-3 6-1.
Jelena Jankovic, the 13th seed, advanced with a 6-0 6-3 win over Iveta Benesova, while there were also early wins for Russian pair Nadia Petrova and Maria Kirilenko, plus 17th seed Yanina Wickmayer and Italy's Flavia Pennetta.
In the only women's second-round action, fifth seed Li Na, playing her first match since her shock Wimbledon loss to Sabine Lisicki, enjoyed a comfortable 6-3 6-4 win over Czech Lucie Safarova.
Early men's winners included seeds Nicolas Almagro, Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, while veteran qualifier Radek Stepanek won a gruelling 7-5 5-7 7-6 (7-4) battle with American John Isner.
Ivan Dodig, last week's conqueror of Rafael Nadal, beat qualifier Ernests Gulbis 6-3 7-6 (7-3), 16th seed Stanislas Wawrinka fell to Andrey Golubev, and other winners were Ivo Karlovic, Janko Tipsarevic, Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau.
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Williams needed one hour and 39 minutes to complete her 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory and book a second-round tie against Samantha Stosur, whom she beat in the Toronto final. Stosur beat qualifier Eleni Daniilidou 6-3 6-1.
Jelena Jankovic, the 13th seed, advanced with a 6-0 6-3 win over Iveta Benesova, while there were also early wins for Russian pair Nadia Petrova and Maria Kirilenko, plus 17th seed Yanina Wickmayer and Italy's Flavia Pennetta.
In the only women's second-round action, fifth seed Li Na, playing her first match since her shock Wimbledon loss to Sabine Lisicki, enjoyed a comfortable 6-3 6-4 win over Czech Lucie Safarova.
Early men's winners included seeds Nicolas Almagro, Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, while veteran qualifier Radek Stepanek won a gruelling 7-5 5-7 7-6 (7-4) battle with American John Isner.
Ivan Dodig, last week's conqueror of Rafael Nadal, beat qualifier Ernests Gulbis 6-3 7-6 (7-3), 16th seed Stanislas Wawrinka fell to Andrey Golubev, and other winners were Ivo Karlovic, Janko Tipsarevic, Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau.
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