‘Overall it was tougher than the scoreline suggests. It was a bit unusual with so many breaks and it was quite difficult for me to hold my serve. But my good return made the difference today. Of course I would love to repeat my 2008 success here’

Former champions Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Jelena Jankovic advanced to a second round showdown at the Kremlin Cup. Pavlyuchenkova, the 2014 winner and seeded seventh, battled through a tough three-set first round clash with Czech Katerina Siniakova. The Russian, ranked 23rd, won 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 7-5 in two hours 46 minutes, to chalk up her third win over the 20-year-old Siniakova in as many meetings.
Pavlyuchenkova will face Jankovic for a place in the last eight after the 2008 winner from Serbia eased past Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 6-3 in 74 minutes.
“Overall it was tougher than the scoreline suggests,” Jankovic said. “It was a bit unusual with so many breaks and it was quite difficult for me to hold my serve. But my good return made the difference today. Of course I would love to repeat my 2008 success here as it’s always my goal — to win the tournament that I’m playing.”
Pavlyuchenkova, who is seeking a career ninth and season’s first title in Moscow, took the opening set in a tiebreak after 51 minutes, while Siniakova fought back from 3-0 down in the second to level after one hour 52 minutes on court. The deciding set was a mirror reflection of the second as Pavlyuchenkova overcame a three-game deficit to claim her second-round spot.
Earlier, Croatian lucky loser Ana Konjuh, ranked 58th, produced the first upset of the tournament beating sixth-seeded Czech Barbora Strycova 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. “I’m really pleased to get the win,” the 18-year-old Konjuh said. “It wasn’t easy after losing in qualifying but today thankfully I played my own style of tennis. I was more aggressive than her and that was the key.”
In the ATP section, Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi, the seventh seed, cruised into the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over a compatriot Federico Gaio, while sixth-seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta ousted Austria’s qualifier Jurgen Melzer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2).
Meanwhile, Svetlana Kuznetsova is still in the hunt for a spot at the WTA Finals after she overcame Alize Cornet 6-4, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals.
The Russian entered this tournament knowing that she had to win the title to book a place for Singapore.
In the early exchanges, Kuznetsova made all the running, missing the chance to break in the first game before pushing Cornet even further in her next service game, but the Frenchwoman saved five break points in an epic that lasted nigh on 13 minutes.
With Kuznetsova rattling through her own games on serve, she was able exert more and more pressure on Cornet and finally got the break that she richly deserved after to go 3-2 ahead.
Having worked so hard to get ahead, Kuznetsova threw up an error-strewn game and handed the break back to Cornet with a shot into the tramlines.
Both players suddenly became more comfortable receiving and after the No.1 seed had restored her advantage, a sloppy backhand into the net put the players back on level terms. A fifth straight break gave Kuznetsova a 5-4 lead, and she finally regained her composure to hold when serving for the set.
The World No.9 carried her momentum into the second set, breaking Cornet’s serve for the fourth time in a row with forehand volley. She next faces Timea Babos, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Kristina Mladenovic.
However, Carla Suarez Navarro’s WTA Finals hopes ended after she was forced to retire from her second round clash with Daria Gavrilova due to a wrist injury. The World No.12 from Spain knew she had to win the tournament to reach the finals, but was trailing the Australian 6-3, 3-0 when she pulled out.
Suarez Navarro’s withdrawal means only Kuznetsova can prevent Johanna Konta from filling the final spot in Singapore.