Seeded players start well in WTA Shenzhen Open

Shenzhen (China): Seeded players fared well at the start of the $750,000 WTA Shenzhen Open tennis tournament as both Monica Niculescu and Alison Riske found their way to the second round after beating two home players respectively here on Sunday. Romanian seventh seed Niculescu bounced back from a 5-7 loss to home wild card Zhang Kailin in the first set and easily took two straight sets 6-1, 6-3 to book a spot in the last 16, reports Xinhua. Wang Qiang, who ranked 72nd in the world, is the only Chinese singles player who claimed a victory on the first matchday. She knocked out Russias Evgeniya Rodina in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 to set up a second round meeting with Niculescu. Former world No.1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia advanced to the doubles second round with Katerina Siniakova from Czech Republic after beating Britains Johanna Konta and Swiss player Timea Bacsinszky 7-6 (9-7), 6-3.-Agency