Stosur wins in Southern California Open first round

CARLSBAD, Calif., July 30 (UPI) -- Fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur used a strong second set Monday to advance out of the first round of the Southern California Open tennis tournament.

After needing three breaks to escape with the first set, Stosur fought off all six break points she saw in the second of a 7-5, 6-1 win over Varvara Lepchenko.

Stosur took about two-thirds of the points when serving and more than half off Lepchenko's serve. She won 65 percent of the points overall in the second set.

No. 6-seed Jelena Jankovic was pushed to three sets by another young American in Mallory Burdette, eventually winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Jankovic had nine aces but also eight double faults and she won a higher percentage (54-52) of points off Burdette's serve than when serving.

The U.S. crowd did see a local favorite advance, however, when Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated Monica Puig 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. Mattek-Sands dropped her serve just once after the first set.

Also Monday, Francesca Schiavone survived a 3-hour marathon against Flavia Pennetta 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (6-8), 6-4 in a match in which there were 19 breaks in 34 games. And Virginie Razzano ousted Svetlana Kuznetsova, who won this tournament in 2010, 6-2, 6-4