Azarenka tops Kvitova to progress at Rogers Cup

Belarus number one Victoria Azarenka, ranked 21 in the world, beat World No.4 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in two sets 6-2, 6-3 to reach the third round of the $2.5 million Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada.

In the opener Victoria Azarenka took a confident 6-1, 6-4 win over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine (15). The Belarusian will next face Italy's Sara Errani (17). Victoria Azarenka holds seven wins in eight head-to-head encounters with the Italian player.

Fellow Belarusian Olga Govortsova (77) lost to World No.6 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 4-6, 6-7 (4-7) in the second round. The Belarusian came through the qualifying round to beat Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu (30) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).

The Rogers Cup in Canada, which is over on 16 August, is a lead-in tournament to the final Grand Slam event of the year, the US Open that will take place in New York from 31 August through 13 September 2015.