Robson races past Ivakhnenko

Laura Robson eased into the second round of the Italiacom Open in Palermo with a 6-1 6-0 thrashing of Valentyna Ivakhnenko.

British player eases into second round of Italiacom Open

British number four Laura Robson eased into the second round of the Italiacom Open in Palermo with a 6-1 6-0 thrashing of Valentyna Ivakhnenko. Robson was not completely convincing on serve but was in dominant form when returning as her Ukrainian opponent was completely overwhelmed. Ivakhnenko in fact did not win a single game on serve, with her only success in the match coming at the start of the first set when she broke Robson. Robson was in a clinical mood and completed the victory in less than an hour to set up a second round clash with either second seed Roberta Vinci, who beat fellow Italian Karin Knapp 6-2 6-2. Elsewhere in the opening round, top seed Sara Errani safely made it through to the second round as she defeated Edina Gallovits-Hall 6-1 6-1. But defending champion Anabel Medina Garrigues suffered a shock defeat as she went down 6-1 6-3 to Italian wild card Maria Elena Camerin. Third seed Julia Goerges made it through with a 6-4 7-6 win over Akgul Amanmuradova, although the German was pushed to the limit in the second-set tie-break, which she won 10-8. Fifth-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez-Navarro safely progressed with a 6-4 6-1 win over Australia's Sacha Jones. Other players to book their spot in the second round of the tournament were Julia Cohen, Patricia Mayr, Estrella Cabeza Candela and Anna Tatishvili.