Wickmayer, Scheepers take Stanford wins

STANFORD, Calif., July 9 (UPI) -- Fifth-seeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer and No. 6 seed Chanelle Scheepers each notched first-round wins Monday to open the Bank of the West Tennis Classic.

Wickmayer, the runner-up to Alize Cornet of France at Bad Gastein last month, ousted Taipei's Kai-Chen Chang 7-5, 2-6, 7-5, to move on to the second round.

Her victory came on Day 1 on the hard courts at Taube Family Tennis Stadium at Stanford University.

South Africa's Scheepers, meanwhile, dispatched American Grace Min 6-4, 6-4, making good on 6-of-9 break chances while shaking off five double faults.

Serena Williams, fresh off her Wimbledon victory last week, is the top seed at the event. She downed second-seeded Marion Bartoli in last year's final.