Bastad, Sweden – Surging Romanian Simona Halep and third- seeded Klara Zakopalova were among Wednesday's winners at the $235,000 Swedish Open tennis event.
The second-seeded Halep won for the 17th time in 18 matches by handling Swedish wild card Rebecca Peterson 6-4, 6-0 in a first-round affair on the red clay at Bastad Tennis Stadium.
The 21-year-old Halep is seeking her fourth title in five events, with the first title of her WTA career coming in Germany last month.
Her second-round opponent on Thursday will be Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta.
The Czech Zakopalova whipped Spaniard Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-3, 6-1, while two other second-round matches involving seeds saw No. 5 Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain overcome Brazilian Teliana Pereira 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and No. 8 Johanna Larsson of Sweden best Russian Nina Bratchikova 6-2, 6-3. Larsson was a Bastad runner-up two years ago.
One other second-rounder saw France's Virginie Razzano come back to beat Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 3-6, 6-0, 6-4.
In addition to Halep, Thursday's schedule will also feature a second-round match for world No. 1 superstar Serena Williams, who'll be opposed by Georgian Anna Tatishvili.
The reigning French and U.S. Open champion Williams is a perfect 24-0 on clay this year and 47-3 overall in 2013.
The 2013 Bastad titlist will claim $40,000.
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