Stosur into Charleston second round

Australian Sam Stosur has battled her way through to the second round of the WTA event in Charleston, South Carolina.

The 10th seed saved 16 break points in the 6-4 6-4 win over world No.124 Aleksandra Krunic, in a match that lasted an hour and 39 minutes.

World No.26 Stosur, who won the event in 2010 and made the semifinals in 2012, struggled with strong winds as she was broken four times and sent down 11 double faults in the topsy-turvy performance.

“My tennis could have been a little bit better, and my serve especially,” she said.

“Whether it was the conditions, a bit of lack of focus at times, whatever the case, it’s certainly something that I need to rectify for the next round.”

She will now face Slovakian lucky loser Jana Cepelova in the second round.

Other first round winners included 14th seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia, Canadian Eugenie Bouchard and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni is the first player into the third round, saving four match points to beat 11th seed Kristina Mladenovic of France 4-6 6-4 7-6(13).

Top seed Angelique Kerber also advanced, surviving a spirited challenge from Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena in the evening match.

The defending champion won 6-2 5-7 7-6(3) in a two hour and 38 minute battle.

“After the first set, she was fighting. She is a great player and a great clay court player,” Kerber said.