Intro:

Serbia's Ana Ivanovic beat Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 7-5 in the opening round of the WTA Western and Southern Open in Ohio on Monday.

Earlier in the day French number one Alize Cornet was beaten by Madison Keys of the United States.

Script:

The WTA Western and Southern Open got underway in Cincinnati on Monday with Ana Ivanovic taking on Sorana Cirstea.

Ninth seed Ivanovic took the first set comfortably 6-1 in just a mere 28 minutes.

Cirstea came back in the second though, rallying to build a 4-1 lead.

However, Ivanovic managed to win three love games to level at four-all before seeing out the set 7-5.

Next up for Ivanovic will be either Nicole Gibbs or wild card Christina McHale in the second round.

Earlier in the the day unseeded American Madison Keys set up an encounter with Maria Sharapova by eliminating Alize Cornet.

The world number 28 won in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in 80 minutes for her second career win over the French number one.