Hsieh Su-wei on Sunday cruised into the second round of the singles at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, while fellow Taiwanese Chan Chin-wei battled into the quarter-finals of the doubles at the Nuernberger Versicherungscup.
Taiwanese No. 1 Hsieh took just 50 minutes to see off Chinese qualifier Xu Yi-fan 6-3, 6-1 on the red clay in France, improving her career record against Xu to 2-0 following a straight-sets victory in Kuala Lumpur in 2012.
The world No. 83 conceded the only break point she faced, but converted five of six, winning 57 of the 90 points contested.
Also advancing on Sunday was French fourth seed Kristina Mladenovic, who battled past Madison Brengle of the US 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 in 1 hour, 53 minutes.
“It wasn’t exactly the easiest match,” Mladenovic told the WTA Web site. “The conditions were difficult with the wind, and the match was swinging back and forth. It’s also cold on the court and difficult to get comfortable.”
“At 0-30 down with her two points from victory, I knew I had to change the match and dig deep. I needed a cool head, and was pleased I could turn that score round to my favor and get the win,” she added.
The fourth seed next faces Alison Riske of the US, who defeated French qualifier Alize Lim 6-0, 7-5.
Also advancing were Swiss qualifier Jil Belen Teichmann and Russian qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva, who ousted French ninth seed Alize Cornet 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.
In Nuremberg, Germany, Chan and Demi Schuurs rallied from a set down to upset fourth seeds Vera Dushevina of Russia and Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 3-6, 6-3, 10-4 in 1 hour, 13 minutes.
The Taiwanese-Dutch duo saved 12 of 16 break points and converted all four they created to advance to a quarter-final against Annika Beck and Anna-Lena Friedsam, who ousted fellow Germans Katharina Hobgarski and Carina Witthoeft 6-3, 3-6, 10-5.
In the singles, Nicole Gibbs advanced to the second round with 6-4, 6-3 victory over Kristyna Pliskova in 1 hour, 18 minutes.
“It was a really exciting win for me, my first on red clay this season, which is a breakthrough for me,” Gibbs told the WTA Web site. “I was hoping to get at least one win going into the French [Open], so I’m excited to be getting those extra matches this week.”
Also advancing on Sunday were Ukrainian fourth seed Lesia Tsurenko and Irina Falconi of the US.
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