Hobart: Second-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel advanced to the second round of the Hobart International on Monday with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Olivia Rogowska of Australia.
Peer's match was played without any protests that dogged her last week in Auckland, New Zealand, where she advanced to the semifinals despite three days of anti-Israeli protests.
Acting on a noise complaint from tournament organizers, police made five arrests and about 20 demonstrators chanted and blew whistles outside the downtown Auckland tennis stadium during Peer's quarterfinal match last week.
In other Hobart results Monday, fifth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain beat Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-2, seventh-seeded Zheng Jie of China defeated Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) and Gisela Dulko of Argentina, the eighth-seeded player, beat Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-4, 6-2.
In other matches, Sara Errani of Italy beat US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin of the United States 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 and Jelena Dokic of Australia, a quarterfinalist at last year's Australian Open, defeated Britain's Elena Baltacha 6-4, 6-2. Dokic said she's in better shape now than the same period last year.
"The start of the year is always difficult. You always get a little bit sore after matches but it's OK," Dokic said.
"I feel like I'm fitter this year and hitting the ball better. It's just a matter now of how I'm playing in the match situations."
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, January 11, 2010, 13:46