By ,
Published January 13, 2015
Red-hot Serena Williams was an easy second- round winner, while last year's Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska was an upset victim Tuesday at the Italian Open tennis event.
The world No. 1 and 2002 Rome champion Williams leveled 19-year-old British left-hander Laura Robson 6-2, 6-2 in 75 minutes just one day after Robson straight-setted Williams' older sister Venus on the red clay at Foro Italico.
The reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open titlist Serena is fresh off her clay- court title in Madrid last week and has won her last 20 matches overall.
Romanian qualifier Simona Halep upended the fourth-seeded Polish Radwanska in 6-7 (2-7), 6-1, 6-2 fashion on Day 2, while another second-round affair saw eighth-seeded former Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova get past German slugger Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 0-6, 7-5.
Meanwhile, former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki went by way of a first-round upset, as Serb Bojana Jovanovski doused the 10th-seeded Dane 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). Wozniacki blew a 5-2 lead in the deciding tiebreak.
Wozniacki has been struggling on clay, losing in the first round at last week's Madrid Open and in her first match in Stuttgart, Germany last month.
Another opening-round upset of a former No. 1 came when Urszula Radwanska took out 15th-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, and yet another seed was sent packing when Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro toppled No. 11 Nadia Petrova of Russia 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1).
Four other seeds avoided opening-round upsets, as No. 12 Russian Maria Kirilenko rolled past Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-3; No. 13 Italian favorite Roberta Vinci overcame Russian Elena Vesnina 6-7 (2-7), 7-5, 6-4; No. 14 Slovak Dominika Cibulkova fought back to beat France's Kristina Mladenovic 1-6, 6-2, 6-2; and No. 16 American Sloane Stephens drubbed long-time Italian favorite Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-3.
Additional first-round wins came for Chinese Zheng Jie, Swiss Romina Oprandi, German Julia Goerges, Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, and Americans Christina McHale and Varvara Lepchenko. McHale bested Italian Karin Knapp 7-5, 6-2, while Lepchenko leveled Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6-4, 6-2 on Day 2. Goerges is rewarded with a second-round match against former world No. 1 star Victoria Azarenka.
The second round will conclude Wednesday, including matches for second-seeded two-time reigning Rome champion Maria Sharapova, a third-seeded Azarenka and last year's Rome runner-up Li Na. Sharapova will face Spanish qualifier Garbine Muguruza, while the Aussie Open champion Azarenka takes on Goerges and the fifth-seeded Li encounters fellow Chinese Zheng Jie.
Also seeing action Wednesday will be seventh-seeded 2012 French Open runner-up Sara Errani of Italy and 16th-seeded American Sloane Stephens.
The winner of this $2.4 million tournament will collect $445,000.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/serena-cruises-radwanska-falls-in-rome