The top three seeds all progressed to the second round at the Tashkent Open in Uzbekistan.

Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru, seeded one, was a 6-2 7-5 winner over Kurumi Nara of Japan but the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for home favourite Akgul Amanmuradova.

The second seed lost in the final last year and she began her campaign this year with a solid victory over Greek qualifier Eirini Georgatou.

Third seed Anna Chakvetadze was another straight-sets winner, 6-3 7-5 over Zuzana Kucova, but Monica Niculescu, seeded five, had a tougher time in a 6-3 6-7 (2/7) 6-2 victory over Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan.

Seeds Magdalena Rybarikova, Alla Kudryavtseva and Maria Elena Camerin also progressed but Indian star Sania Mirza was beaten 6-1 4-6 7-5 by Ekaterina Bychkova.