Hobart, Australia (Sports Network) - Reigning champion Mona Barthel
reached the second round, while top-seeded Su-Wei Hsieh was bounced Monday at
the Hobart International tennis event, a final Australian Open tune-up.
Chinese Peng Shuai outlasted the Taiwanese Hsieh 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-4),
while a ninth-seeded Barthel came from behind to beat Aussie wild card
Ashleigh Barty 2-6, 6-0, 6-1 on the hardcourts at Hobart International Tennis
Centre.
The German Barthel defeated Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in last year's Hobart
finale. She'll meet South African Chanelle Scheepers on Tuesday.
In other opening-round action involving seeds, No. 2 Sorana Cirstea of Romania
overcame Russian lucky-loser Nina Bratchikova 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, No. 4 Yaroslava
Shvedova of Kazakhstan handled Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-4, 6-1, and
Belgian Kirsten Flipkens upended No. 6 Francesca Schiavone of Italy 2-6, 6-3,
7-6 (7-3).
Also advancing to the round of 16 were the aforementioned Scheepers,
American qualifier Lauren Davis, Aussie wild card Jarmila Gajdosova,
Russian Elena Vesnina, Romanians Monica Niculescu and Simona Halep, and
Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.
Eighth-seeded rising American Sloane Stephens will play a second-round match
against Romanian Simona Halep on Tuesday.
The Sports Network