Seles through in Brazil

Monica Seles overcame a slow start to kick off her Brazil Open defence with a 7-5 6-1 win against Slovenia’s Tina Pisnik.

The former Australian, US and French Open champion fell 3-5 behind in the first set of the second-round match.

But she won seven straight games to clinch the set and raced to a 3-0 lead in the second before rain interrupted the match.

When play resumed she closed out the match comfortably.

“Pisnik was playing very well in the beginning of the match, and I was slow to find my rhythm, so I slowed my pace and tried to play longer balls. It worked”, said the world number 5. “Then, in the second set, the rain delay was a little bit unsettling, and she didn’t played so well. It was a good start”, said Seles.

Seles, seeking her third title of the year after wins in Doha and Madrid, will meet Slovakia’s Henrieta Nagyova in the last eight.

Nagyova shocked fifth-seed and former French Open champion Iva Majoli, of Croatia, 6-2 6-3.