Ivanovic, Jankovic through to Doha second round

DOHA - Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanovic is through to the second round of the WTA tournament in Doha, after her first-round opponent, Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova retired at the start of the second set.

With the Serbian player leading by 7:5, and 1-0 in the second set, Hantuchova withdrew with a right knee injury.

In the second round on Wednesday, Ivanovic will play Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic, who defeated Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 in her first-round match.

As the fifth seed of the Doha event, Serbian Jelena Jankovic received a bye in the first round. Her first opponent will be Karin Knapp of Italy, who eased past France's Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-1 on Tuesday.

In the doubles competition, Jelena Jankovic paired up with Alisa Kleybanova of Russia for a successful doubles debut on Monday and a hard-fought win against Varvara Lepchenko (USA) / Alexandra Panova (Russia) 7-6(3), 0-6, 10-2. Their next opponents will be the all-American pairing of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears.

The tournament in Doha offers a prize fund of USD 2.44 million.

Photo Tanjug, T. Valic (ilustration)