ABU DHABI: Fifth seed Liudmila Samsonova and sixth seed Leylah Fernandez moved into the second round of the Abu Dhabi Open with straight-sets victories on the tournament’s outdoor hard courts in the United Arab Emirates.
Russia’s Samsonova overcame former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-0. The opening set featured early breaks of serve in each of the first four games before both players settled.
Kenin had two break points at 4-4 but failed to convert, and Samsonova held from 30-40 before breaking to seal the set. She then dominated the second set, racing through it in 26 minutes and winning 26 of the 35 points played.
Fernandez was equally convincing, dispatching France’s Chloe Paquet 6-0, 6-3 in a 65-minute contest. The Canadian won 54 of the 80 points played to book her place in the next round.
American players also enjoyed success on the opening day of main-draw action.
McCartney Kessler defeated Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-3, while Hailey Baptiste recovered from a set down to beat Serbia’s Teodora Kostovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
