Wozniacki gets back to work with Dubai win

AFP,  DUBAI: Two days after playing the Doha final, Caroline Wozniacki plunged straight back to work on Monday at the Dubai Tennis Championships with a 6-2, 7-5 first-round defeat of Darya Kasatkina.
Former WTA world number one Wozniacki had only limited turnaround time to adjust to what many feel is a faster court in the emirate compared to last week's venue.
Olympic champion Monica Puig ignored back pain to defeat Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the second round.
The Puerto Rican, a Doha semi-finalist who lost to Wozniacki last week, was stretched out on court for treatment but managed to find her reserves to advance past the Kazakh. Puig had lost three of four matches against Shvedova, winning their last in Toronto in 2015.
Puig's success marked her first Dubai win after a loss in the first round two years ago. She will next play France's Caroline Garcia.
High-ranking seeds led by Angelique Kerber go into second-round action on Tuesday after byes at the Aviation club.
US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova is seeded second ahead of Slovak Dominika Cibulkova. Teenaged American Catherine Bellis made a winning debut as the 17-year-old beat Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-1, 7-5.
China's Peng Shuai outed Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine 6-1, 6-1 while Kristina Mladenovic of France defeated Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-3.
Alison Riske took advantage of 11 double-faults, breaking Australian Open semi-finalist Coco Vandeweghe five times to post a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

Wozniacki gets back to work with Dubai win

AFP, DUBAI: Two days after playing the Doha final, Caroline Wozniacki plunged straight back to work on Monday at the Dubai Tennis Championships with a 6-2, 7-5 first-round defeat of Darya Kasatkina. Former WTA world number one Wozniacki had only limited turnaround time to adjust to what many feel is a faster court in the emirate compared to last weeks venue. Olympic champion Monica Puig ignored back pain to defeat Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the second round. The Puerto Rican, a Doha semi-finalist who lost to Wozniacki last week, was stretched out on court for treatment but managed to find her reserves to advance past the Kazakh. Puig had lost three of four matches against Shvedova, winning their last in Toronto in 2015. Puigs success marked her first Dubai win after a loss in the first round two years ago. She will next play Frances Caroline Garcia. High-ranking seeds led by Angelique Kerber go into second-round action on Tuesday after byes at the Aviation club. US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova is seeded second ahead of Slovak Dominika Cibulkova. Teenaged American Catherine Bellis made a winning debut as the 17-year-old beat Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-1, 7-5. Chinas Peng Shuai outed Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine 6-1, 6-1 while Kristina Mladenovic of France defeated Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-3. Alison Riske took advantage of 11 double-faults, breaking Australian Open semi-finalist Coco Vandeweghe five times to post a 6-4, 6-4 victory.