Townsend wins in WTA debut
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American teenager Taylor Townsend came up a winner in her WTA debut Thursday at the $5.186 million BNP Paribas Open.
The 16-year-old wild card posted a 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 victory over Czech Lucie Hradecka on the hardcourts at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The promising left-hander and Chicago native Townsend, who was the top-ranked junior in the world at the end of 2012, will face former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic in the second round.
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Swede Sofia Arvidsson overcame promising British lefty Laura Robson 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1, while additional wins came for Romanians Monica Niculescu and Irina-Camelia Begu. The hot Niculescu was a finalist in Brazil last week.
Meanwhile, 42-year-old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm snuck past Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Victoria Azarenka beat former champion and fellow former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova in last year's final in the California desert. The two women are this week's top seeds.
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Other former Indian Wells champs in the field are former world No. 1s Caroline Wozniacki, Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic.
This Premier Mandatory WTA event will pay its' newest champion $1 million.