• WTA

Robson eases through Guangzhou opener

ESPN staff
September 17, 2013
Laura Robson reached the final of the Guangzhou Open in 2012 © AP
Enlarge

British No. 1 Laura Robson is through to the second round of the Guangzhou Open after a comfortable 6-2 6-4 victory against Jovana Jaksic.

Robson, who became the first Briton to reach at WTA final event in 22 years at the Chinese tournament in 2012, ran into few problems against the Serbian qualifier who struggled on serve in the opening set.

The 19-year-old, the third seed in Guangzhou, broke five times in all to win in 72 minutes and set up a second-round meeting with Saisai Zheng or Luksika Kumkhum.

While Robson progressed with a minimum of fuss, two more Serbians produced first-round upsets. Top seed Sorana Cirstea was unceremoniously ousted 6-2 6-1 by Bojana Jovanovski, while fifth seed Urzula Radwanska fell to Vesna Dolonc 7-5 6-2.

Meanwhile, Heather Watson suffered a stinging three-set defeat by 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm in the first round of the WTA Korea Open. Despite taking the first set, Watson fell 3-6 6-3 6-4 in a match that lasted almost two and a half hours.

Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska advanced to the second round with a comfortable 6-4 6-0 victory against Romania's Alexandra Cadantu.

Download ESPN's new UK sport app, a fresh and powerful new way to follow your favourite UK sports news, scores and video.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
ESPN staff Close