Fourth seed Tatjana Maria of Germany was in a fine touch while making short work of Dutch qualifier Arianne Hartono 6-3, 6-1 in her first WTA Thailand Open match at Arena Hua Hin yesterday.
Maria, who is ranked No.44 in the world, raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening set but Hartono rallied to level the score 3-3. However, Maria won the next three games on the trot for a 6-3 victory.
The German was even more devastating in the second set which she took after dropping only one game to her Dutch opponent.
Maria will next face American world No.125 Katie Volynets, who demolished No.97-ranked Slovenian Tamara Zidansek 6-2, 6-2 yesterday.
A major upset on the second day of the tournament saw sixth seed Yuan Yue of China fall to unseeded Arina Rodionova of Australia 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-3.
In another first-round singles clash yesterday, world No.126 Linda Fruhvirtova of Czech Republic had a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 victory over world No.114 Anastasia Tikhonova of Russia.
Fruhvirtova will meet the winner of last night's match between Australian world No.199 Taylah Preston and second-seeded defending champion Zhu Lin in the second round.
On Monday night, Thai wildcard Lanlana Tararudee, 19, impressed before falling 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to former world No.2 Paula Badosa of Spain.
Badosa, who is now down No.83 in the WTA rankings, will take on Diana Shnaider in the second round.