Zvonareva advances to 2nd round at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — Second-ranked Vera Zvonareva has advanced to the second round of the Australian Open, beating Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-2, 6-1 in less than an hour.

Zvonareva, who has reached the finals of the past two Grand Slam tournaments, dominated the first set and tightened her grip on the match in the second on Tuesday. She conceded only four points in the first four games of the second set and didn't allow Bammer to hold until the sixth game.

The 26-year-old Russian reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park two years ago, her best run at a major until reaching the finals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year.

She said, "It's tough to play your best tennis in the first match. The most important thing is I've done what I needed to do."