Romania's Begu advances to 2nd round at Indian Wells tournament (WTA 125 K Series)

Romanian tennis player Irina Begu qualified on Tuesday for the second round of the Indian Wells tournament, WTA 125 K Series, with prizes worth 162,480 US dollars, after defeating German Mona Barthel, with a score of 6-4, 6-1.

Begu (aged 29, WTA's 104th) managed to win after 68 minutes, thus surpassing her opponent (aged 29, WTA's 2019th), whom she defeated in their previous three confrontations.

The first face-off took place in 2011 in Cagnes-sur-Mer, when Irina Begu won the first round with a score of 6-0, 1-6, 7-6 (7), afterwards, in 2018 in Seul, Begu also won the first round, 7-5, 6-4, and in 2019, in Budapest, the Romanian national managed to win with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, also in the first round.

Begu secured a cheque worth 1,575 US dollars and 8 WTA points, and, in the second round, she is to face off US Taylor Townsend, 4th seed.

Patricia Tig, seeded 10th, will enter directly in the second round, to play against Serbian Olga Danilovic, who defeated Veronica Cepede Royg (Paraguay), with a score of 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.