Halep gets morale boosting win, disappointment for Kasatkina
After her early exit in Melbourne and disappointment in Shenzhen, Simona Halep got back to winning ways in St Petersburg on Wednesday.
Simona Halep put her failure at the Australian Open behind her with a hard-fought victory over Ana Konjuh to get her St Petersburg Ladies Trophy campaign off to a winning start.
The Romanian was a surprise first-round casualty at Melbourne Park as Shelby Rogers sent her crashing out in straight sets.
She struggled in Shenzhen prior to the grand slam but will hope she has turned a corner with her 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 win in Russia on Wednesday.
Halep won 84 per cent of Konjuh's second serve points and said in the post-match on-court interview: "I was really happy I could win this match, it was really important to me after Australia.
"I feel fit, I feel ready to play and am enjoying my time in St Petersburg."
There was no such joy for 2016 semi-finalist Daria Kasatkina, though, as the eighth seed was beaten by Natalia Vikhlyantseva 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.
Elena Vesnina was dominant as Ekaterina Makarova was brushed aside with ease in just 69 minutes, setting up a quarter-final clash with either Donna Vekic or Dominika Cibulkova.
Third seed and home favourite Svetlana Kuznetsova will meet Yulia Putintseva in the last eight after both came through their second-round ties, Kuznetsova rarely tasted as she powered past Daria Gavrilova 6-1 6-3.