Tennis: Niculescu advances to face Williams at Indian Wells
Monica Niculescu beat Aleksandra Krunic 6-2, 6-1 to book a second round clash with Serena Williams.
INDIAN WELLS (AFP) - Monica Niculescu rolled over Aleksandra Krunic 6-2, 6-1 to book a second round clash with top seed Serena Williams, who is returning to Indian Wells after a 14-year hiatus.
Reigning Australian Open champ Williams is one of 31 seeded players who received a first-round bye at the joint ATP and WTA Indian Wells tournament in the California desert.
Williams is competing in the two-week event for the first time since her self-imposed exile began in 2001. She claimed two singles titles in 1999 and 2001.
This will mark the first career meeting between Williams and Romania s Niculescu when they square off Friday night on centre court at the Tennis Garden stadium.
In other first round women s matches on Wednesday s opening day, British number one Heather Watson, Mona Barthel and Irina Falconi emerged victorious.
Rising star Watson took on former top 15 player Julia Goerges, of Germany, in the first main draw contest of the tournament on centre court.
Watson appeared to be headed for a straight-set victory by compiling a 6-4, 5-3 lead, but Goerges rallied to win five games in a row to take the second set and go up a break at 1-0 in the third. But Watson regrouped to beat Goerges in the deciding set 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
American wild-card Falconi beat Croatia s Ajla Tomljanovic 7-6 (8/6), 6-4. The 24-year-old Falconi was one of seven Americans who took the court Wednesday.
In other matches, wild card Louisa Chirico lost to Donna Vekic of Croatia, 6-4, 6-3; Elena Vesnina of Russia beat qualifier Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-3, 6-3; qualifier Daria Gavrilova of Russia surprised Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain 6-3, 6-4; and Barthel of Germany outlasted Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
