Dubai: Last year's quarterfinalist Maria Kirilenko of Russia eased her way into the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open, that got under way at the Dubai Tennis Stadium yesterday.
Meanwhile, sixth seed Patty Schnyder battled for more than two and a half hours before quelling the challenge from Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4.
"It was somehow important that I stay focused and get my game in order," Schnyder said after the match.
Kirilenko, one of the more promising players coming out of Russia in recent years, cruised past debutant and one of three wild cards Monica Niculescu 6-3, 6-0.
"This is just the kind of win I needed to get a bit of confidence back," Kirilenko said after the match.
"I am happy that I have been able to get past the first round as this helps the confidence level to get better," she added.
The 20-year-old Moscow native has a fine run so far on the WTA Tour. Kirilenko made it to the third round of the Australian Open, equalling her best efforts in Grand Slam, where she lost to third seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Pleasing display
"I think I can be pretty pleased with the way I played today. I did the right things and though I found some of her shots a bit strange, I think I got everything going my way," Kirilenko added.
Things were evenly balanced at the start. But once Kirilenko has sized up her opponent, she just ran through the first set 6-3 and then breezed through the second to win it comfortably 6-0.
"I know I have a lot of hard work to do this year, and I need to play more tournaments and get more matches under my belt and get my ranking up," she added.
Kirilenko will now run into the winner of today's match between fellow countrywoman Elena Vesnina and Slovakian Daniela Huntuchova.
Also winning on the opening day was Greece's Eleni Daniilidou as she braved through three sets to knock out Li Na of China 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Evidently pleased with the way she handled the pressure during the match, Daniilidou seemed a bit disturbed by a slight delay after the Chinese called the trainer on court for cramps in her leg.
"It gave me a bit of anxiety, but I think I did well to keep my focus.," Daniilidou said.
In another match of the day, Australian Alicia Molik overcame Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany 6-3, 6-4.
Results
Singles (first round): Maria Kirilenko bt Monica Niculescu 6-3, 6-0; Alicia Molik bt Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-3, 6-4; Eleni Daniilidou bt Na Li 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-3; Patty Schnyder beat Francesca Schiavone 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4.
Qualifiers (final round): Vera Dushevina bt Dominika Cibulkova 7-5, 6-4; Anne Kremer bt Viktoriya Kutuzova 6-2, 6-2; Emmanuelle Gagliardi bt Agnes Szavay 7-5, 6-3; Tamira Paszek bt Alberta Brianti 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
Doubles (first round): Kateryna Bondarenko/Vera Dushevina bt Agnes Szavay/Anabel Medina Garrigues 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-1.
Order of Play
Centre Court: (Start at 2 pm) Daniela Hantuchova vs Elena Vesnina; Elena Likhovtseva vs Vera Dushevina; (Start at 7 pm) Jelena Jankovic vs Aravane Rezai; Mara Santangelo vs Martina Muller.
Court No 1: Meghann Shaughnessy vs Emmanuelle Gagliardi; Anabel Medina Garrigues vs Anne Kremer; Svetlana Kuznetsova/Alicia Molik vs Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Meghann Shaughnessy; Daniela Hantuchova/Ai Sugiyama vs Jelena Kostanic Tosic/Tatiana Perebiynis.
Court No 2: (Not before 4 pm) Janette Husarova/Kveta Peschke vs Martina Hingis/Maria Kirilenko.
Court No 3: (Start at 2 pm) Tamira Paszek vs Katarina Srebotnik; Eleni Daniilidou/Jasmin Woehr vs Francesca Schiavone/Katarina Srebotnik.
