Putintseva, Mladenovic win first-round matches at Astana Open

Yulia Putintseva and Kristina Mladenovic were among the winners in the first-round matches on a day of few surprises at the Astana Open on Tuesday.

FILE PHOTO: Yulia Putintseva will meet Vera Lapko in the second round. - GETTY IMAGES

Yulia Putintseva and Kristina Mladenovic were among the winners in the first-round matches on a day of few surprises at the Astana Open on Tuesday.

Top-seeded Putintseva started her bid to win the WTA's only event in her home nation of Kazakhstan with little fuss as she beat Ekaterine Gorgodze 6-1, 6-2. She will meet Vera Lapko in the second round.

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Seeded third, French player Mladenovic had a tougher time as she needed nearly three hours to defeat local wild card Anna Danilina 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4. She's up against Anastasia Potapova in the second round.

The only one of the six seeded players in action to lose was fourth-seeded Greet Minnen, beaten 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 by Kaja Juvan. Ana Konjuh beat Urszula Radwanska 7-6 (6), 6-1, Rebecca Peterson won 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 against Stefanie Voegele and Clara Burel was leading 5-2 in the first set when her opponent Mandy Minella retired.

Muguruza, Jabeur advance in Chicago

Garbine Muguruza and Ons Jabeur won in straight sets in the second round of the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic on Tuesday.

Muguruza said the breezy conditions were challenging during her 6-4, 6-4 win over 21-year-old American Ann Li.

THAT DROP SHOT

@Ons_Jabeur | #ChicagoTennisFestivalpic.twitter.com/AhtxigN4cm

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“It was a difficult match just because (Chicago) is a windy city, or the city of the wind,” Muguruza said. “Just controlling the mindset and not getting very frustrated because it’s difficult. With 6-4, 6-4, it was very tight. I think the match was very equal due to the circumstances, but I’m happy that I stayed calm in the 5-4, serving for each set, and I managed to close them out.”

Jabeur, the No. 6 seed from Tunisia, dispatched Su-Wei Hseih 6-1, 6-0 in 46 minutes.

Seventh-seeded Elise Mertens, No. 11 seed Anett Kontaveit and 14th-seeded Victoria Azarenka also advanced in straight sets.

Camila Giorgi, the 15 seed from Italy, lost 6-4, 6-2 to Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania.

In doubles, Polish duo Magdalena Frech and Katarzyna Kawa beat Belgian pair Kim Clijsters and Kirsten Flipkens in the first round, 6-4, 6-2. Clijsters, a former World No. 1 and U.S. Open champion in 2009 and 2010, was eliminated from the singles bracket in a three-set loss on Monday, her first WTA Tour match since a first-round loss at last year's US Open.