Sixth seed Ankita Raina beat Vlada Ekshibarova of Uzbekistan 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Namangan, Uzbekistan, on Monday.
In another lively match, Sharrmadaa Baluu stretched top seed Hiroko Kuwata of Japan to three sets. Sharrmadaa won the first set with a break in the fourth game, but conceded early ground in the next two sets.
The results: Singles (first round): Hiroko Kuwata (Jpn) bt Sharrmadaa Baluu 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Ankita Raina bt Vlada Ekshibarova (Uzb) 6-4, 7-5.
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Sharrmadaa & Ankita bt Arina Folts & Guzal Yusupova (Uzb) 6-0, 7-6(5); Alexandra Grinchishina (Kaz) & Natasha Palha bt Gulchekhra Mukhammadsidikova & Shakhsiya Tukhtamatova (Uzb) 6-2, 6-2; Anna Morgina (Rus) & Nidhi Chilumula bt Kamila Kerimbayeva & Ekaterina Klyueva (Kaz) 6-4, 6-2.
