MINSK, 2 March (BelTA) — Belarus' world number 14 Victoria Azarenka went off to a good start at the ATP Qatar Open, BelTA has learned.
The Belarusian powered into the second round past Russia's world number 39 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-3. The match lasted one hour and 50 minutes. Victoria Azarenka will next play either Germany's world number 56 Laura Siegemund or Kazakhstan's world number 23 Elena Rybakina.
World number 8 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will kick off from the second round against Spain's world number 16 Garbine Muguruza.
In the Lyon Open Aliaksandra Sasnovich will play world number 143 Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in the round of Last 32 while Vera Lapko will take on Switzerland's world number 130 Viktorija Golubic.
In the round of Last 16 of the doubles event Sasnovich and Lapko secured a confident win, 6-1, 6-1 over the French duo of Lis Boisson and Juline Fayard. The Belarus-Kazakhstan tandem of Lidziya Marozava and Anna Danilina saw off the Romanian duo of Irina Bara and Mihaela Buzarnescu.
The competitions in Doha will be over on 6 March, those of Lyon one day later.
