Irina Begu qualifies for second round in Miami (WTA)

Romanian tennis player Irina Begu qualified for the second round of the Miami Open (WTA 1,000) on Wednesday, with a total prize pool of 8,369,455 dollars, by defeating American Hailey Baptiste, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-1, Agerpres reports.

Irina Begu (31 years old, the 70th in the WTA) needed two hours of play to defeat her young opponent (20 years old, the 122nd in the WTA).

Begu secured a cheque for 30,130 dollars and 35 WTA points, and her next opponent will be Belarus' Arina Sabalenka, the main seed. The two are at their first direct encounter.