Muguruza first to reach third round of Qatar Total Open
DOHA, February 14, 2018-Wimbledon champion and fourth seed Garbine Muguruza registered a 6-3 6-4 win over China's Duan Yingying to emerge the first player to clinch a berth in the third round on Tuesday while France's Kristina Mladenovic defeated China's Shuai Peng 6-2 6-4 and Czech Petra Kvitova cruised to a 6-0 6-3 triumph over Turkey's Cagla Buyukakcay.
The former world No.1 Muguruza, who is making her fourth appearance at the annual WTA Premier 5 tournament, Muguruza is now one win away from repeating her best result in Doha, reaching the quarters in 2016 where she lost to Andrea Petkovic in three sets in three sets.
Two time Wimbledon champion Kvitova completed her eighth straight wins with her victory against the 28-year-old Turkish player at the end of the third match on Centre Court on the day. The Czech also reached a milestone with the result being her 360th main draw career victory.
The world No. 21 Kvitova, who is making her fifth main draw appearance at tournament, was just too strong for the world No.160 Buyukakcay, who last week shocked Jelena Ostapenko during the Fed Cup for her first top victory.
Buyukakcay had a career breakthrough in Doha back in 2016, when she upset then-World No.7 Lucie Safarova, and later that year she became the first Turkish player to win a WTA title in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, Mladenovic maintained her return to form with her maiden main draw win in Doha. The Frenchwoman comfortably beat Shuai, one of four Chinese women in the main draw of the tournament.
Peng, a 2014 US Open semi-finalist, has now exited the Qatar Total Open in the first round for the second year in a row after suffering the 100th defeat to a top 20 ranked opponent.
In the other matches of the day, Great Britain's Johanna Konta reached the second round with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 victory over American qualifier Bernarda Pera while American 12th seed Madison Keys beat Qiang Wang of China 6-1 6-4.
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