Mayr-Achleitner upsets Svitolina in Marrakech

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) Patricia Mayr-Achleitner of Austria surprised second-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-2 in the first round of the Grand Prix SAR on Tuesday.

Svitolina made seven double faults and blew a 5-2 lead in the first set. The Ukrainian teenager then broke for a 5-3 lead in the next set to even the match. But Mayr-Achleitner broke Svitolina three times in the final set.

Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, Peng Shuai of China and Romina Oprandi of Switzerland survived three-setters to reach the second round.

The top-seeded Hantuchova made the decisive break in the penultimate game to outlast Czech qualifier Renata Voracova 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, the sixth-seeded Peng beat Tunisian wild card Ons Jabeur 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, and Oprandi rallied past Italian lucky loser Anastasia Grymalska 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.

Garbine Muguruza of Spain, Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland and Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium won their first-round matches in straight sets.

The fifth-seeded Muguruza did not face any break points in her 6-2, 6-2 win over Julia Glushko of Israel, Voegele fired nine aces in her 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain, and Van Uytvanck ousted Alexandra Cadantu of Romania 6-4, 6-1.