Goerges, Medina Garrigues advance in Bastad

2:57 PM, Jul 17, 2012   |    comments
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Bastad, Sweden (Sports Network) - Second-seeded German Julia Goerges and third-seeded Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues were among Tuesday's first-round winners at the $220,000 Swedish Open.

Goerges slammed Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 6-2, while Medina Garrigues grounded promising British teenager Laura Robson, a wild card this week, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) on the red clay at Bastad Tennis Stadium.

Meanwhile, Sweden's own Sofia Arvidsson ousted fourth-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci 6-4, 7-5.

In other action involving seeds, No. 5 Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova leveled Austrian Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 6-2, 6-2 and No. 6 Czech Klara Zakopalova overcame German qualifier Annika Beck 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Reigning Bastad champion Polona Hercog continued her winning ways at this event with a 7-5, 7-5 decision against Russian Alexandra Panova. The Slovenian Hercog beat Sweden's own Johanna Larsson in last year's finale.

Hercog will encounter Goerges in a second-round affair on Wednesday.

Other Day-2 wins came for Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko, Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus, Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, Colombian qualifier Mariana Duque Marino, Israeli Shahar Peer, and Spaniard Silvia Soler-Espinosa.

This week's top seed, Sara Errani, will open her Bastad stay against France's Mathilde Johansson on Wednesday. The surprise French Open runner-up is fresh off her clay-court title in Palermo in her native Italy last week.

The 2012 Bastad champion will earn $37,000.

The Sports Network