Mauresmo into Strasbourg Open third round

STRASBOURG, France, May 23 (Reuters) Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo recovered from a sluggish start to beat Uzbekistan's Varvara Lepchenko 6-4 6-1 and reach the third round of the Strasbourg Open toay.

Mauresmo, who slumped to a surprise second round defeat in Rome last week, entered the tournament in order to get more competition ahead of the French Open starting on Sunday.

The Wimbledon champion, who has never made it past the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, lost her serve early in the match against the world number 105 but broke twice to secure the first set.

The second set was a mere formality for the former world number one, who wrapped up the win in 86 minutes.

China's Li Na breezed into the third round with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Russian Vera Dushevina. Fourth-seeded Li broke her opponent five times to clinch victory in 61 minutes.

Reuters AKD DB2045