ACAPULCO, Mexico(AP) Flavia Pennetta of Italy began her title defense with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Mariya Koryttseva of Ukraine at the Mexican Open on Tuesday.
Second-seeded Pennetta improved her record in the tournament to 25-4. Since she reached the quarterfinals in her debut in 2003, she has made it to the final each year, winning in 2005 and last year. Of her six career titles, four have been in Latin America.
She next faces Pauline Parmentier of France.
Other winners included lucky loser Agnes Szavay of Hungary, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic, Mathilde Johansson of France, and Maret Ani of Estonia, who beat last week's Bogota semifinalist Patricia Mayr of Austria 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4.