Pegula, Townsend pick up victories at Newport Beach

NEWPORT BEACH, CA, USA -- Top two seeds Jessica Pegula and Taylor Townsend, both of the United States, smoothly moved into the round of 16 at the Oracle Challenger Series event in Newport Beach on Wednesday.

No.1 seed Pegula had no trouble dispatching former Top 5 player Sara Errani of Italy, claiming a 6-1, 6-1 victory in 51 minutes at the first WTA 125K Series event of the season.

Pegula, who beat Caroline Wozniacki to reach the final at the ASB Classic earlier this month before falling to Serena Williams, served five aces and saved all three of the break points she faced against Errani, the 2012 Roland Garros finalist.

In the round of 16, World No.66 Pegula will battle Hungary's Dalma Galfi with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. Galfi, who won the US Open junior singles title in 2015, upset No.16 seed Varvara Lepchenko of the United States, 6-4, 6-4.

No.2 seed Townsend booked her spot in the third round with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico. Townsend was stellar on serve, winning 24 of her 26 first-service points and never facing a break point in the clash.

Townsend is coming off a close second-round loss to eventual quarterfinalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Australian Open, after she beat Pegula in the first round of the Grand Slam event.

World No.79 Townsend will now meet No.14 seed Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine in the third round, after Kalinina overcame Frenchwoman Jessika Ponchet, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Two more Americans joined Pegula and Townsend in the winner's circle on Wednesday. No.5 seed Madison Brengle defeated Japan's Mayo Hibi, 6-1, 7-5, and Irina Falconi upset her 9th-seeded compatriot Usue Maitane Arconada, 7-6(5), 6-1.

No.6 seed Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland also advanced to the third round, ousting American Hanna Chang, 6-4, 6-3. But Argentina's Nadia Podoroska upset No.7 seed Francesca Di Lorenzo of the United States, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in a two-hour and 21-minute tussle.

To complete the second-round results, No.11 seed Veronica Cepede Royg of Paraguay eliminated American qualifier Quinn Gleason, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2, and No.12 seed and former US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium beat American teenager Claire Liu, 6-1, 6-3.