Lucie Safarova loses in first round of Citi Open

Washington: Top-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic lost to France's Kristina Mladenovic in the first round of the Citi Open on Tuesday.

Mladenovic rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory against the Wimbledon semifinalist. She will face American qualifier Taylor Townsend in the second round.

On the men's side, Americans Jack Sock, Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson each advanced with straight-set victories. Other first-round winners included Dominican Republic's Victor Estrella Burgos and Dudi Sela of Israel.

Seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa and No. 11 seed Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan reached the third round with straight-set victories. Anderson defeated Russia's Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 6-4, and Istomin eliminated Australia's Bernard Tomic 6-4, 7-6 (6).

Sock beat Michael Berrer of Germany 7-6 (2), 6-4. He grabbed control by breaking Berrer in the first game of the second set.

Next up for Sock is a Wednesday match against No. 2 seed Milos Raonic, who had a bye in the first round.

Querrey beat countryman Michael Russell 6-4, 6-3, and Johnson eliminated Australia's James Duckworth with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win.

There will be a new titlist in the women's tournament after No. 2 seed Ekaterina Makarova of Russia cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory against two-time defending champion Magadalena Rybarikova of Slovakia. Rybarikova had won her last 10 matches in the tournament.

No. 5 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova moved into the second round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over France's Virginie Razzano. Pavlyuchenkova next faces Japanese qualifier Hiroko Kuwata.