Vesnina kicks off Tashkent Open with win

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TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Fourth-seeded Elena Vesnina claimed a win Monday at the WTA's Tashkent Open in Uzbekistan, which opened with four straight-set decisions.

Vesnina beat Lesya Tsurenko 6-3, 6-2 in 66 minutes. She lost her serve only once and dropped a mere 17 points over eight service games.

Stefanie Voegele posted an even more lopsided win in a 6-3, 6-1 rout of homestanding Alina Abdurakhimova. She lost only 10 points on serve in finishing off the match in 51 minutes.

Ekaterina Ivanova took out Katie O'Brien 7-5, 6-1, winning 58 percent of the points in O'Brien's service games. Also, Evgeniya Rodina defeated Arina Rodionova 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.

Hometown favorite Akgul Amanmuradova, the No. 2 seed this week, begins her tournament play Tuesday. She was the runner-up of the event in 2005 and 2009.