Azarenka retires in her first Charleston match

Victoria Azarenka, the 3rd seed in Charleston, won her first set against Christina McHale this morning in the Family Circle Cup Stadium. However, at 6-2, 2-2, Azarenka retired because of the hamstring injury that caused her to retire in the Marbella quarterfinals last week.

Also retiring was Ayumi Morita, who sustained a left adductor muscle strain while she was playing Daniela Hantuchova. The match ended with Hantuchova leading 6-4, 2-0. And though she finished the match, Bethanie Mattek-Sands began cramping in both thighs in her third set against 9th seed Alona Bondarenko. Bondarenko won, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the third round with a straight set win over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, and 6th seed Nadia Petrova advanced with a straight set win over Vania King.

An enthusiastic Australian crowd was on hand to deliver cries of "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi oi oi!" during Sophie Ferguson's match, but their enthusiasm wasn't enough to get Ferguson past Melanie Oudin. The 13th seed won, 6-2, 6-4, and thereby booked a date with countrywoman Christina McHale in the third round.

In doubles action, Ekaterina Dzehalevich and Olga Savchuk led 3rd seeds Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 5-0, 40-0 in the first round. At that point, Raymond and Stubbs began to turn things around a bit, though Dzehalevich and Savchuk took the first set 6-3. Raymond and Stubbs then became much more aggressive, and took the second set 6-1. But Dzehalevich and Savchuk made the super-tiebreak a dramatic one, saving three consecutive match points at 6-9, and then saving a fourth match point before losing the tiebreak 10-12.

Mattek-Sands recovered from the cramping episode and played her first round doubles match with partner Yan Zi. The third seeds defeated Oudin and Shenay Perry 6-3, 6-4.