Buzarnescu battles through as McHale impresses in Nuremberg

While Mihaela Buzarnescu was pushed all the way in Strasbourg, Christina McHale won in straight sets in her Nuremberg Cup opener.

Mihaela Buzarnescu survived a scare in the opening round of the Internationaux Strasbourg, as the fourth seed battled back from a set down to win on Sunday.

The Romanian eventually triumphed 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 against Magda Linette after a see-saw match that saw the two players combine for 15 breaks of serve.

Fellow seed Danielle Collins (7) also had to work hard in her first match of the tournament, eventually prevailing 6-1 4-6 6-3 against Amandine Hesse of France.

Lucky loser Elena Rybakina made the most of her opportunity in the main draw, overcoming Andrea Gamiz in straight sets to book a clash with Buzarnescu.

Meanwhile, in the early stages of the Nuremberg Cup, Christina McHale began her campaign in Germany with a straight-sets victory over China's Zheng Saisai.

American McHale had suffered early exits in her last two tournament appearances, in Morocco and Madrid, but booked her place in the second round with a 6-2 7-6 (7-5) triumph after one hour and 47 minutes on court.

Compatriot Madison Brengle also progressed, knocking out Varvara Lepchenko 6-1 6-3, while Spaniard Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino recorded a 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 result against German Katharina Hobgarski.