Defending champion Petra Kvitova and the player she beat in the 2021 final, Garbine Muguruza, notched victories at the Qatar Open on Monday. While Caroline Garcia upset former Doha champion Simona Halep in other first-round action.
No.5 seed Muguruza, the 2021 runner-up, survived a tough first set against Sorana Cirstea of Romania before easing to a 7-6(4), 6-1 second-round win in an hour and 27 minutes.
Defending champion Kvitova, meanwhile, reversed a recent result as she swept past Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-3, 6-1 in the first round.
For her own berth in the second round, France's Caroline Garcia emerged victorious against Simona Halep for just the second time in nine career meetings.
The current World No.76 and former Top 5 player found some of her best form in recent seasons in a 6-4, 6-3 win against the 2014 Doha champion and former World No.1, her first win in their all-time head-to-head in more than four years.
The No.4 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia joined Muguruza in the round of 16 after Kontaveit defeated Ana Konjuh of Croatia 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and 24 minutes.
Earlier, Tereza Martincova battled through windy conditions and a dogged opponent in the first round to upset the No.10 seed Elina Svitolina 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-6(5) in 2 hours and 59 minutes.
The newly-minted World No.13 Jelena Ostapenko secured a sixth straight victory overall in the Middle East with a 6-4, 6-2 first-round win over France's Oceane Dodin.
( With inputs from ANI )
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