Romanian-Spanish pair Monica Niculescu/Cristina Bucsa qualified for the doubles round of 16 of the WTA 1,000 tennis tournament in Doha (Qatar), with total prize money of USD 3,211,715, on Sunday evening, after defeating Russian pair Veronika Kudermetova/Alexandra Panova, 6-2, 7-5.
Niculescu and her partner born in Chisinau claimed victory after an hour and 21 minutes.
The two secured a USD 13,650 cheque and 120 WTA doubles points.
In the round of 16, Niculescu and Bucsa will face Miyu Kato (Japan)/Aldila Sutjiadi (Indonesia), who won the first round 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 against the number eight seed Hao-Ching Chan (Taiwan)/Giuliana Olmos (Mexico).