Moscow: Sergiy Stakhovsky and Alize Cornet advanced to the second round of the Kremlin Cup with straight-set victories on Monday.
Stakhovsky upset seventh-seeded Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-3, while Cornet ousted Ukrainian teenager Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-3.
Stakhovsky won seven consecutive games to rally from 4-1 down in the first set and take a 2-0 lead in the second. He broke Sousa again in the ninth game, sealing the win with a drop shot on his second match point.
In the women's tournament, Cornet broke in the 12th game of the first set and took a 4-0 lead in the second.
Earlier, top-seeded Angelique Kerber, coming off her third career title in Linz, Austria, on Sunday, withdrew with an abdominal strain.
