Top seed Begu sent packing in Tashkent

Kateryna Kozlova caused a first-round upset at the Tashkent Open by knocking out top seed Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets.

Tashkent Open top seed Irina-Camelia Begu was knocked out in the first round.

Top seed Irina-Camelia Begu went tumbling out of the WTA Tashkent Open on Tuesday as Kateryna Kozlova caused a first-round shock with a 6-3, 6-2 win.

Begu impressed in South Korea last week with victory over former world number two Agnieszka Radwanska, but she could not get past 119-ranked Kozlova in Uzbekistan.

Despite a strong start, Begu quickly found herself under pressure, losing her serve on three successive occasions as the first set slipped away from her.

Kozlova continued to thrive and wrapped up the win in under 80 minutes, setting up a meeting with Fiona Ferro.

Third seed Tamara Zidansek also bowed out against wildcard Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-4, but Vera Lapko and Evgeniya Rodina had no such problems

Lapko enjoyed a 6-1, 6-3 win over Bojana Jovanovski Petrovic, while Rodina saw off Poland's Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-2.

Tuesday also saw wins for Arantxa Rus, Olga Danilovic, Ivana Jorovic and Mona Barthel as the second-round line-up was completed.