Tennis: Baker throught to second round in Australia

Leanne Baker and doubles partner Francesca Lubiani of Italy won through to the second round of the $50,250 women's tennis tournament in Nuriootpa, South Australia, yesterday.

The pair beat qualifiers Leslie Butkiewicz of Belgium and Kim Kilsdonk of the Netherlands 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 in the first round.


In the next round they will play the winner of the match between third seeds Sarah Stone and Samantha Stosur of Australia and Dutch qualifiers Marielle Hoogland and Jolander Mens.

Meanwhile, in the US$25,000 challenger event in Puebla, Mexico, New Zealander Mark Nielsen and Janko Tipsarevic of Yugoslavia lost in the doubles quarterfinals.

They took top seeds Diego Ayala and Robert Kendrick of the United States to three sets, losing 6-3 3-6 0-6.

- NZPA