HOBART, Australia, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Roberta Vinci advanced in straight sets Sunday in first-round play at the Hobart International tennis tournament in Australia.
Vinci, seeded fourth, topped Romina Oprandi 7-6, (7-0), 6-3 despite dropping serve four times. She had six breaks against Oprandi. The first set was a seesaw affair with each player getting three service breaks before Vinci took control with the shutout in the tie-breaker.
Seventh-seeded Sara Errani moved into the second round with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 victory over Anna Chakvetadze in a lengthy match. Errani won just four more points (74-70) in the match but had five breaks in 11 Chakvetadze service games.
No. 8-seeded Angelique Kerber edged Kimiko Date-Krumm 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) in a match that took more than two hours and Ayumi Morita advanced by beating Akgul Amanmuradova 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) in Sunday's other matches.
The $220,000 Hobart International serves as a final tuneup event before the Australia Open begins Jan. 17.
