Olympic champion Puig puts back pain behind her

DUBAI — Olympic champion Monica Puig ignored back pain to defeat Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday. The Puerto Rican, a Doha semifinalist against Caroline Wozniacki last week, was stretched out on court for treatment but managed to find her reserves to advance over the Kazakh. "There was just some soreness," world No. 42 Puig said. "I need to get my body as recovered as possible but I'm feeling good after this win." Puig had lost three of four matches against Shvedova, winning their last in Toronto, 2015. "It's good to have a match that pushes you a little bit, so then you start getting into the rhythm." she added. "You really have to be on your toes in every point - I'm just happy that I got through today." Puig's success marked her first Dubai win after a loss in the first round two years ago. She will next play France's Caroline Garcia. High-ranking seeds led by Angelique Kerber go into second-round action on Tuesday after byes at the Aviation club.
 US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova is seeded second ahead of Slovak Dominika Cibulkova. Teenaged American Catherine Bellis made a winning debut as the 17-year-old beat Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-1, 7-5. The match was the first this season for Bellis, who suffered a strained hamstring as well as a muscle problem after a surprise run to the US Open third round. China's Peng Shuai outed Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine 6-1, 6-1 while Kristina Mladenovic of France defeated Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-3. — AFP