Gajdosova, Tomljanovic advance in Pattaya
Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova has continued her blistering start to the year and will next meet Ajla Tomljanovic, also a first-round winner at the WTA event in Pattaya.
Pattaya, Bang Lamung District, Chon Buri, Thailand, 11 February 2015 | AAP
Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova has continued her blistering start to the year, marching into the second round of the WTA Pattaya Open with a straight sets victory.
The 27-year-old, who plummeted to 334th in the world rankings less than a year ago while battling glandular fever, signalled her intent for a strong 2015 last week with an impressive display for Australia in their Fed Cup defeat to Germany.
Gajdosova defeated Germany No.1 Angelique Kerber in the opening match of the Fed Cup tie and pushed 12-ranked Andrea Petkovic in an epic three-set match in Stuttgart last week.
Based on that form, her first round match-up against Japanese qualifier Misa Eguchi presented fewer problems.
Gajdosova, the sixth seed, breezed through the first set before taking the second in a tiebreak for a 6-3 7-6(1) victory which took a tick under 90 minutes.
She will face regular doubles pratner Ajla Tomljanovic, who downed Russian qualifier Elizaveta Kulichkova 6-3 7-6(4) in the second round.
The Croatian-born Tomljanovic, who lives in Brisbane, is expected to gain Australian citizenship in the coming months.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Peng Shuai was among five Chinese winners on Tuesday, cruising into the second round with a 6-3 6-2 win over Russian Alla Kudryavtseva.