Seles breezes into Shanghai Open second round
Seles breezes into Shanghai Open second round
Reuters, Shanghai
Top seed Monica Seles needed only 42 minutes to advance to the second round of the Shanghai Open on Tuesday with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Lenka Nemeckova of the Czech Republic.
"It was one of those days where you can't do anything wrong," Seles told reporters after the match. "Those types of days are what you work toward."
World number eight Seles has won 11 matches in a row since a fourth round loss at last month's US Open. During her unbeaten run she has won the Brazil and the Japan Opens.
"I've been very surprised by my play," Seles said. "After the US Open I was a little disappointed in my game, so I tried to stay focused more during matches and it's made a big difference."
In other first round matches on Tuesday, third-seeded Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand advanced with a 6-4, 6-1 win over China's Peng Shuai. South African number five seed Joannette Kruger was upset by South Korea's Cho Yoon-jeong 6-4, 7-6 (8-6).
Eighth-seeded Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy beat China's Li Ting 6-1, 7-6 (8-6), and ninth-seeded Rossana de los Rios of Paraguay overcame Italy's Adriana Serra-Zanetti 6-2, 6-3.
World number 10 Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia, withdrew from the tournament on Monday citing a left ankle strain.
In Filderstadt, Germany, American Meghann Shaughnessy became the first seed to bow out of the Filderstadt Grand Prix when she was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Spanish baseliner Magui Serna in a first round match on Tuesday.
Eighth seed Shaughnessy fell far short of the form which helped her win the Quebec Challenge last month, struggling with her usually efficient serve and making many unforced errors. Croatia's Iva Majoli, who won the tournament in 1995 and was a wild card entrant this year, also went out, losing to Miriam Oremans of the Netherlands.
Qualifier Oremans recovered from the loss of the first set to beat the former French Open champion 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
The top four seeds -- Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters -- have byes into the second round of the $565,000 event.
At the Lyon indoor tournament in France, second seed Juan Carlos Ferrero cruised into the second round of with a crushing 6-1, 6-3 win over Italy's Andrea Gaudenzi on Monday.
Gaudenzi saved four match points before going down to the powerful-serving Spaniard in just 55 minutes.
Ferrero, a clay-court specialist with victories in Estoril, Barcelona and Rome this year, proved he was also able to thrive on the faster surface with a sparkling performance.
Fellow Spaniard Albert Portas, the seventh seed, was beaten 4- 6, 6-2, 6-2 by unheralded Czech Michal Tabara, ranked 70th in the ATP standings
Top seed Marat Safin of Russia will make his first appearance in the tournament later on Tuesday.