Shahar Pe'er progressed to the second round of the PTT Bangkok Open on Tuesday, defeating Hungarian Melinda Czink 7-6 (3), 6-4. The 20-year-old Israeli, who remained at No. 16 in the WTA rankings that were announced on Monday, will next face Russian Anastasia Rodionova (76). Pe'er is seeded third in the Tier III $200,000 tournament in Thailand and is in the same half of the draw as second seed and world No. 8 Venus Williams. Czink (129) claimed the first break of Tuesday's match in the ninth game of the first set, but Pe'er tied the score immediately, saving a set point and breaking her opponent. The Hungarian would live to rue her missed opportunity, with Pe'er winning four of the first five points of the tiebreak on her way to clinching the first set. Pe'er's second break of the second set gave her a 4-1 lead and a cushion she would maintain until the end of the match. "I was not playing my best tennis. In the first set I didn't hit the ball on the court and she was playing well the whole match," said Pe'er. In other first round play, Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic upset sixth seed Aiko Nakamura of Japan 6-4, 7-6 (5) On Monday, Dudi Sela entered the world's top 100 for the first time in his career, climbing a massive 17 places to No. 92 after reaching the quarterfinals in Tokyo last week. Sela is the first Israeli man to be ranked in the top 100 in more than three years. Fourth seed Virginie Razzano of France defeated Lourdes Dominiguez Lino of Spain 6-0, 6-3 in just 63 minutes. First seed Jelena Jankovic, the world No. 3. and second seed Venus Williams are due to play their first round matches on Wednesday, after Jankovic's arrival in Bangkok was delayed by a missed flight.
