Budapest, Hungary, 22 February 2018 | tennis.com.au

No.2 seed Zhang Shuai proved too strong for Arina Rodionova in Budapest, beating the Aussie in straight sets on Wednesday.

The Chinese player defeated Rodionova 6-3 6-2 in 78 minutes to move through to the second round.

Rodionova stormed through two rounds of qualifying to take her place in the main draw.

But Zhang proved a far trickier prospect once she got there; the second seed won 84 per cent of her first serve points and saved all five break points she faced in a clinical performance.

Zhang will face Jana Cepelova for a shot at Alison Van Uytvanck in the quarterfinals.