Daijiworld Media Network - Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Nov 3: Second seed Alexandra Eala defeated British lucky loser Emerson Jones in straight sets to enter the second round of the Prudential Hong Kong Open WTA tournament on Tuesday, while top seed Sorana Cirstea and fifth seed Talia Gibson also progressed. However, seventh seed Liudmila Samsonova suffered a first-round upset.

Eala made a flying start, racing to a 4-0 lead in the opening set. Jones, who entered the main draw following the withdrawal of American Alycia Parks, fought back to narrow the gap to 4-3. However, the Filipino held her nerve to take the set 6-4.

Ranked a career-high 17th in the WTA rankings this week, Eala continued her strong performance in the second set, establishing a 5-1 lead. Jones managed to recover one break, but Eala maintained her advantage to seal a 6-4, 6-3 victory in one hour and 23 minutes.

Eala will next face Czech teenager Tereza Valentova, who defeated qualifier Himeno Sakatsume 6-3, 7-5 in another first-round encounter on Tuesday.

Earlier, top seed Cirstea recovered from an early break down in the deciding set to overcome Maria Timofeeva 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 and advance to the second round.

Cirstea will next take on American Mary Stoiana, who defeated seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in straight sets on Monday.

Fifth seed Gibson, who achieved a career-high ranking of 36th this week, fought back from a 5-3 deficit in the opening set to beat Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-6, 6-1.

Meanwhile, seventh seed Samsonova was knocked out by Alexandra Shubladze. Making her WTA Tour main-draw debut, Shubladze staged a comeback to register a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory and book her place in the second round.

Maya Joint also advanced after winning an all-Australian clash against Maddison Inglis 7-5, 6-2, while Zeynep Sonmez defeated Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-2 to progress.