Ankita, who made a second round exit in last week’s ITF meet, with her big serve and solid groundstrokes, did not allow an erratic Phadke a chance to fight back.
The top seed raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set and was serving for the set in the eighth game only to be broken back. That was the only blip in an otherwise clinical fare by Ankita, who broke Phadke immediately to close the set. Ankita was flawless in the second set.
Ankita’s cousin Prerna Bhambri, however, failed to match up to Swiss Stephanie Theiler, going down 3-6, 3-6.
Last week’s champion Ying Ying Duan of China beat Japanese qualifier Moe Kawatoko 7-5, 6-3 while seventh-seeded Parul Goswami was upset by South Korean Seo-Kyung Kang 3-6, 2-6. Another Indian Shweta Solanki was defeated by Austrian qualifier Natasha Bredl 4-6, 5-7.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks