Key Biscayne, FL (Sports Network) - Former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was
an easy opening-round winner Wednesday at the $4.196 million Sony Open.
The former top-five star and two-time Grand Slam champion doused Spaniard
Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-3, 6-3 on the hardcourts at Crandon Park, where the
Russian titled back in 2006.
Italian Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champion, had a much tougher
time with her first-round opponent, but survived Jana Cepelova of Slovakia
with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Meanwhile, Slovakian veteran Daniela Hantuchova drubbed Bulgarian Tsvetana
Pironkova 6-2, 6-4, and Romanian Simona Halep outlasted German slugger Sabine
Lisicki 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, on Day 2.
Americans Jamie Hampton, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Victoria Duval, Christina
McHale and Madison Keys all advanced, with Keys bageling countrymate Allie
Kiick in 46 minutes. The only other American in action, Mallory Burdette, lost
to Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, 6-2, 6-4.
Britain's Laura Robson won her first match since the Australian Open with a
6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Camila Giorgi of Italy.
Others heading to the second round are Swiss Romina Oprandi and Stefanie
Voegele, Czech Karolina Pliskova, Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigues, Silvia
Soler-Espinosa and Garbine Muguruza, China's Zheng Jie, Canada's Eugenie
Bouchard, Belarus' Olga Govortsova, Croatia's Donna Vekic and Pole Urszula
Radwanska, the younger sister of the reigning Miami champion.
The top seeds here are a trio of current and/or former world No. 1s --
Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and last week's Indian Wells champion
Maria Sharapova.
The reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open titlist Williams is a five-time Miami
champ, while the Aussie Open champion Azarenka titled here in 2009 and 2011
and the French Open queen Sharapova was last year's Miami runner-up to
Agnieszka Radwanska. Sharapova has lost in the last two finals at this Premier
Mandatory WTA event.
All 32 seeds received opening-round byes.
The winner of this 13-day tournament will earn $724,000.
The Sports Network