By Chris Soderstrom
Anna Chakvetadze shot off to a promising start at the FORTIS Championship in Luxembourg yesterday, recording a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over Frenchwoman Mathilde Johansson.
After a disappointing season where she slumped to No. 12, after reaching No. 5 late last year, the 21-year-old is hoping to salvage some consolation from the tournament this week.
Chakvetadze will await the winner of Czech Iveta Benesova or British wildcard Laura Robson in the second round.
In other matches, Slovakian third seed Daniela Hantuchova defeated Paula Parmentier, 6-2, 7-5, while China’s Na Li out powered home crowd favourite Mandy Minella 6-2, 6-1.