Dubai: Second seeded Anastasia Yakimova was the biggest casualty while third seed Bojana Jovanovski overcame a sluggish start before powering her way to the next round on the opening day of the 14th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge that got under way at the Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa yesterday.

Yakimova looked out of sorts from the start as she succumbed 0-6, 1-6 to Russia's Nina Bratchikova, while Jovanovski shrugged off her initial hesitation before recording a 6-4, 6-2 win against Ukrainian Mariya Koryttseva in a late match to advance to the second round.

"This is a lucky tournament for me and may be the two-month break did not help me too much," Bojanovski told the media after her match.

Adapting to the surface

"It takes time to adapt to the surface, but I am sure I will only get better in my next match."

Jovanovski broke early for 2-1, but committed three unforced errors on the trot to be broken back by her Ukrainian opponent.

However, the lanky Serbian — who turns 20 on December 31 — broke and held for 4-2.

The action was far from over, however, as Koryttseva broke a second time, but could not sustain the pressure of Jovanovski's solid groundstrokes to lose the first set 6-4.

This season, Jovanovski has continued with her terrific form of 2010 when she became the youngest player in the top-100. She has been enjoying her best year on the tour this season and is the third highest ranked Serbian player behind Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic.

No hiccups

There were no hiccups in the second set as Jovanovski broke in the fifth and seventh games and then served out the match 6-2.

"The idea is to just go out there and give it my best, and the results will follow," she said.

Also advancing to the second round on the opening day was Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic with a convincing win against Varatchaya Wongteanchai.

Mladenovic powered her way past Wongteanchai of Thailand 6-3, 6-3.

This year's tournament — held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance — is sponsored by the Al Habtoor Group.

Qualifiers: Kremer crashes out

Anne Kremer of Luxembourg was a surprise loser on the final day of qualifying at the 14th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge being played at the Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa. Kremer, seeded No.2 in the qualifying rounds, fell in three sets, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, to sixth seeded Tara Moore of Great Britain yesterday morning.

A regular at this season-ending tournament that allows players to collect valuable points before heading into the new year starting with the Australian Open, Kremer was disappointed with her failure to get past the qualifiers and into the main draw.

"I had my opportunities to close off the match but I did not use the chances that came my way. There is nothing that I can do about this now," Kremer told Gulf News. "My main aim coming to Dubai was to collect a few points so that I could get into the qualifiers for the Australian Open. But now that this is not happening I will stay on and play in the doubles." Also entering the main draw were Uzbekistan's Nigina Abduraimova, Nastja Kolar of Slovenia and Jasmina Tinjic of the Bahamas.

RESULTS

(Singles) Bojana Jovanovski bt Mariya Koryttseva 6-4, 6-2; Kristina Mladenovic bt Varatchaya Wongteanchai 6-3, 6-3; Nina Bratchikova bt Anastasia Yakimova 6-0, 6-1.