Romania's Bara progresses to WTA Argentina Open singles R16

Romanian tennis player Irina Bara on Wednesday advanced to the round of 16 of the women's singles event at the 115,000 US-dollar WTA Argentina Open tournament in Buenos Aires, after defeating Argentina's Martina Capurro Taborda 6-3 6-1.

Fourth-seeded Bara, 26, world number 138, prevailed in an hour and eight minutes over a much lower ranked opponent, 23-year-old Capurro Taborda, world number 880.

For her performance so far, the Romanian won 2,000 US dollars and 15 WTA singles points, and in the round of 16 she will play Brazil's Carolina Alves 25, world number 281.

Bara is top seed in the doubles event, teamed up with Georgia's Ekaterine Gorgodze, after the duo won the Transylvania Open doubles title this weekend in Cluj-Napoca. In the first round in Buenos Aires, Bara and Gorgodze will meet Argentina's double Martina Capurro Taborda / Luciana Moyano.