Dinara Safina admitted she was pleased with her "solid" performance as she reached the third round of the LA Championships.
World No.1 sees off Hantuchova in straight sets
Dinara Safina admitted she was pleased with her "solid" performance as she reached the third round of the LA Championships.
The 23-year-old Russian, who won the title in Carson last year, was a comfortable 6-2 6-4 victor over Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova on Wednesday.
World No.1 Safina led 3-0 and 5-2 in the opening set - although she was taken to deuce five times before finally serving out for the set.
The second set was a much tighter affair, with Safina getting the decisive break in the seventh game.
"It was a good match," Safina said. "I feel I can improve. It was a solid match. I didn't do anything spectacular.
Aggressive
"We play the same way, so it depends on who's going to take charge of the points, and I think at the crucial times I was more aggressive."
Safina will now take on China's Zheng Jie, who saw off Russia's Elena Vesnina 6-4 4-6 6-0.
Maria Sharapova, who is on her way back up the rankings after being sidelined with a shoulder injury, battled back from a set down to overpower third seed Victoria Azarenka 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-2.
Seventh seed Dominika Cibulkova was also sent crashing out after losing 6-4 6-7 (6/8) 6-4 to Poland's Urszula Radwanska, who will now face Li Na - a 4-6 6-4 6-2 victor over Canada's Alexandra Wozniak.
There were no such upsets for fellow seeds Vera Zvonareva, Nadia Petrova, Flavia Pennetta, Samantha Stosur, Zheng Jie and Agnieszka Radwanska as they booked their places in the third round.
