DUBAI, United Arab Emirates(AP) Alisa Kleybanova beat Anna Lapushchenkova 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in an all-Russian match Sunday in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Kleybanova reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. She will next face former top-ranked player Ana Ivanovic, who had a first-round bye.
Ivanovic has slipped to No. 8 in the WTA rankings and recently started training with a new coach - Craig Kardon.
Seeded players Zheng Jie and Kaia Kanepi also advanced to the second round. The 13th-seeded Zheng defeated Anastasia Rodionova of Russia 6-1, 6-1, and the 16th-seeded Kanepi beat Tamira Paszek of Austria 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Also, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia beat Maria Kirilenko of Russia 6-2, 6-4 and Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria defeated Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine 6-2, 6-3.