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| Varvara Lepchenko hits a backhand to Silvija Talaja during their second-round match at the JP Morgan Chase Open© Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images |
CARSON, Calif. (AP) -- Varvara Lepchenko, a late addition to the field for the JPMorgan Chase Open, became the first to reach the third round of the tournament.
Lepchenko, a 19-year-old from Uzbekistan, got into the 56-player field as a "lucky loser'' when Ai Sugiyama withdrew Monday morning with a strained left thigh.
Lepchenko has had even more good fortune by drawing as her opponents two more lucky losers, Galina Voskoboeva and Silvija Talaja of Croatia. Lepchenko beat Talaja 6-4, 6-2 on Tuesday afternoon after defeating Voskoboeva 6-1, 7-6 (6) a day earlier.
In other matches, former tournament champion Conchita Martinez of Spain was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Mashona Washington; Iveta Benasova of the Czech Republic beat rising star Sania Mirza of India 6-3, 1-6, 6-4; Eleni Daniilidou of Greece defeated Maria Emilia Salerno of Argentina 7-6 (2), 7-5; Jill Craybas outlasted Virgia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, and Acura Classic semifinalist Peng Shuai of China overcame Maria Vento-Kabchi of Venezuela, 7-6 (5), 6-0.