Halep, Kvitova, Krejcikova advance in Dubai

It was smooth sailing for some of the big names in the opening round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday.

Former champion Simona Halep defeated Alison Riske 6-2, 6-4 and 2013 winner Petra Kvitova crushed Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-0.

Second seed Barbora Krejcikova and No. 6 seed Iga Swiatek also registered straight-set victories.

Krejcikova edged out wildcard Caroline Garcia 6-4, 7-6, while Swiatek raced past Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-2 in 65 minutes.

Elsewhere, an all-American first-round derby between two of last year's quarterfinalists saw Jessica Pegula progress 6-4, 6-4 past Coco Gauff.