Seeded WTA trio extended in Russia

Seeded trio Anett Kontaveit, Belinda Bencic and Elise Mertens have all got through tough three-set matches to reach the second round of the WTA Tour's St Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

Kontaveit, the second seed behind Maria Sakkari, had the least trouble as she defeated Swiss player Jil Teichmann 6-3 1-6 6-3 on the opening day of the tournament.

Fifth-seeded Bencic came from 3-0 down in the deciding set to force a tiebreaker and defeat Veronika Kudermetova 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-5).

Mertens, the eighth seed, came from a break down in the third set to beat Australian Open quarter-finalist Alize Cornet 3-6 6-2 6-4.

In the day's other match, local favourite Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Italy's Camila Giorgi 6-2 1-6 6-2.