China's Li Na and Peng Shuai advanced to the second round of the Fortis Championships in Luxembourg with easy victories on Monday.
Sixth-seeded Li breezed past unheralded home favorite Mandy Minella 6-2, 6-1 while Peng also won in straight sets, beating Russian Vera Dushevina 6-1, 6-2.
Second-seeded Anna Chakvetadze joined the Chinese duo in the second round by beating Mathilde Johansson of France 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Chakvetadze had lost six of her last seven matches, but the Russian jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first set and a 4-2 lead in the second. She will face either Czech Iveta Benesova or 14-year-old Laura Robson of Britain in the next round.
Third-seeded Daniela Hantuchova also advanced at CK Sportcenter Kockelsheuer, the Slovak seeing off Pauline Parmentier of France 6-2, 7-5.
In other matches, Sabine Lisicki of Germany beat Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Sara Errani of Italy defeated Marina Erakovic of New Zealand 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.
In Linz, Austria, Maria Kirilenko beat Olga Savchuk of Ukraine 6-2, 7-5 yesterday to reach the second round of the Generali Ladies.
The 30th-ranked Russian, who won her third WTA Tour title of the season in Seoul last month, went a break down in the second set before winning four straight games to close out the match.
Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine also advanced after beating Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-3, 6-3 and will next play fourth-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.
Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain rallied to beat Samantha Stosur of Australia 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and set up a second-round match against Russia's Vera Zvonareva.
On Monday, Alize Cornet of France defeated China's Zheng Jie. The eighth seed broke Zheng three times in each set and saved seven break points.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily October 22, 2008)