Kirilenko, Errani out of China Open

Beijing: The second day of the China Open saw several seeded tennis players exit the tournament in the first round including Russia`s Maria Kirilenko and Italy`s Sara Errani.

Kirilenko, seeded 13th, was eliminated by fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 3-6, 3-6 on Sunday. As a result Makarova, ranked a career-high 22nd, sets up an encounter with either Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Polona Herzog of Slovenia in round two. Sixth seed Errani, a French Open finalist in June, was 4-5 down in the first set of her first-round match against compatriot Camila Giorgi, when she had to withdraw due to an injury. The next opponent for the 20-year-old Giorgi will be Switzerland`s Romina Oprandi. A bad day for the Italians continued with the defeat of 15th seed Roberta Vinci by Spanish qualifier Lourdes Dominguez Lino. Vinci took the first set in a tie-break, before the 31-year-old Spaniard surged back to secure a 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-2 win. In the next round, World No.67 Dominguez Lino will play Britain`s qualifier Laura Robson, who knocked out 42-year-old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm 6-4, 6-4. There was also a first-round exit for 16th seed Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic, who was stunned by Romania`s Monica Niculescu 6-2, 6-0. World No.47 Niculescu will face either Serbia`s Jelena Jankovic or Andrea Petkovic of Germany in the second round. IANS