Carla Suarez Navarro hits a return against Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo. (AFP)

AFP/Tokyo

Carla Suarez Navarro ended her eight-match dry spell with a hard-earned 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 victory yesterday against Kateryna Bondarenko at the Pan Pacific Open.
It was the first victory for the 10th-ranked Spaniard since June and she suffered a first-round, straight-set defeat against the 83rd-ranked Bondarenko a week ago at the Japan Women’s Open Tennis.
Suarez Navarro said that defeat gave her the insights to gain victory Tuesday against the Ukrainian.
“It’s true that I lost (a week ago). But I had much in my mind how to play against her,” Suarez Navarro said.
“Today I just tried to play and be relaxed. I tried to play my game.”
Suarez Navarro said she had “lost confidence” as she kept losing match after match, with the negative feeling leading to psychological fatigue and more losses. Now she hopes to regain her form as the current season draws towards its close, with only a handful of Asian tournaments to go.
“I feel happy because I can change the situation. With the next match, I have one more opportunity to try to play my game, and try to play like the beginning of the season,” the Spaniard said.
In other matches German fifth-seed Angelique Kerber crushed Daria Gavrilova of Russia 6-2, 6-2.
It was Kerber’s first appearance since her nail-biting US Open third-round showdown against Victoria Azarenka, when she lost but won much praise for her performance.
“I just try to take the confidence from the US Open to the next tournament here, for the Asia trip and for the next year,” she said.
The US Open match, Kerber said, showed that she can play “two or three hours on the high level”.
A Grand Slam victory appeared “so far away” but “I will try to keep working for that. You never what happens,” she said.
In other action, eighth-seed Belinda Bencic beat China’s Xi Yi-Fan 6-0, 6-0.  
Samantha Stosur of Australia beat Alison Riske of the United States 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Top seed Begu advances to Korea Open 2nd round
Romanian top seed Irina-Camelia Begu scored a comfortable victory over Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Kozlova in the first round of the WTA Korea Open on Tuesday.
Begu, ranked 29th in the world, beat Kozlova in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 to set up a second-round meeting with Polona Hercog of Slovenia.
American third seed Sloane Stephens, ranked 32nd in the world, had little trouble against South Korean wildcard Han Na-Lae 6-1, 6-1.
Two other Americans also advanced to the second round, with fourth seed Varvara Lepchenko pushing aside Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-2, 6-3. Christina McHale led the first set 6-4 but was down 1-2 in the second when Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan abandoned the match.
Elizaveta Kulichkova of Russia needed three sets against Heather Watson of England to book her place in the second round 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic edged Irina Falconi of the United States 6-3, 2-6, 6-0, while Swedish veteran Johanna Larsson defeated Nicole Melichar of the United States 6-4, 6-2.