MOSCOW, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Russian wild-card entry Vera Dushevina claimed a first-round win Monday in the $1.34 million Kremlin Cup tennis tournament in Moscow.
Dushevina, playing before her hometown fans, was a solid 7-5, 6-1 winner over Eleni Daniilidou. She advanced to the second where fifth-seeded Marion Bartoli, who beat Alona Bondarenko 6-2, 7-5 on Monday, awaits.
The tournament likes its local players. Last year Muscovites Anna Chakvetadze and Nadia Petrova met for the tournament title with Chakvetadze winning the Kremlin Cup.
No. 7-seeded Patty Schnyder was an impressive winner as the indoor tournament started Monday, eliminating Emilie Loit 6-4, 6-1.
The top four seeds this week are Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Sharapova and Chakvetadze and American Serena Williams. They received first-round byes.
