LINZ, Austria – No.4 seed Carla Suárez Navarro overcame some big hitting from Mona Barthel to ease past the German, 6-4, 6-2, to not only advance into the second round of the Generali Ladies Linz, but also retain her hopes of qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

The Spaniard, currently ranked No.10 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, narrowly missed out on qualification last year, and could yet find herself closing in on the Top 8 with strong results in Linz and next week’s Kremlin Cup. Though she led Barthel 2-0 in their head-to-head, the pair had only played on clay – Suárez Navarro’s favorite surface – and the indoor hardcourts are a much better fit for the former World No.23, who struggled with illness and injury throughout the season.

Serving at 71% for the match, Suárez Navarro’s consistency won the day, breaking serve four times to reach the second round in just over an hour.

One of the only women to reach the second week at all four major tournaments in 2016, Suárez Navarro’s next opponent is either Jelena Ostapenko or Sara Sorribes Tormo.

More to come…