Family Circle Cup qualifying begins

Today was the first day of qualifying at the Family Circle Cup, and with the qualifying draw expanded, matches were played in the stadium, which is usually reserved for practice. Top qualifying seed Iveta Benesova advanced, though she had to go three rounds against Andreja Klepac to do it. 2nd seed Alexandra Cadantu wasn't so lucky--she fell to Marta Domachowska in three sets, and one no games in the third.

Camila Giorgi won her first qualifying round

Camila Giorgi beat Grace Min 6-4, 6-4 in a high-quality match, but the big match of the day was one that was interrupted by rain and carried on into the night. Melanie Oudin defeated Heather Watson 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in a 2 1/2-hour contest in which Oudin held steady and relied on her backhand to overcome an inconsistent opponent. In the first set, Watson went for the winner too soon; after that, she waited patiently, but repeatedly hit the ball too long. When she moved Oudin forward, she was successful, but most of the match was played at the baseline, where Oudin nicely handled the long ralllies.

Both Pliskova sisters won today, as did Yaroslava Shvedova and Andrea Hlavackova.