Cirstea edges Bartunkova 7-6 6-3 in Cincinnati first round

Sorana Cirstea came through a tight opening set and then pulled clear, beating Nikola Bartunkova 7-6, 6-3 in the Round of 64 in Cincinnati. The Romanian leaned heavily on her first delivery, landing 58.1 percent of them and winning 74.1 percent of those points, which carried her through the tie-break. Behind it she was vulnerable, taking only 38.5 percent of her second-serve points and coughing up eight double faults to Bartunkova's two. The Czech, in at 51.9 percent first serves and 72.5 percent won on them, could not convert that steadiness into the decisive edge. Cirstea moves into the second round.