Canada's Zhao posts convincing opening win at Chennai Open over Australian opponent

Carol Zhao advanced to the second round of the Chennai Open tennis tournament with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Australia's Olivia Tjandramulia on Tuesday in India.

Zhao, from Richmond Hill, Ont., won 69.8 per cent of service points and 56.1 per cent of return points in the comfortable victory that took one hour three minutes to complete.

The Canadian did not face break point, and converted five of the 12 break points she had.

The win is Zhao's first in the main draw of a WTA event since November, 2021.

Zhao joined fellow Canadians Rebecca Marino and Eugenie Bouchard, who won their matches on Monday, in the second round of the WTA 250 event. She will next face second seed Varvara Gracheva of Russia.

In doubles action, Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., and Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer combined for a 6-2, 6-4 win over the fourth-seeded team of Poland's Katarzyna Kawa and China's Han Xinyun.

Bouchard and Wickmayer will face the winner of a match between India's Ankita Raina and Rosalie Van Der Hoek of the Netherlands and Russians Anastasia Gasanova and Oksana Selekhmeteva in the quarterfinals.

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