Stosur, Svitolina advance at rainy Rogers Cup

11:55 PM ET

MONTREAL — Australia’s Samantha Stosur won a hard-fought opening match in the first round of the Rogers Cup women’s tennis tournament on Monday.

Stosur avoided the upset, beating 67th-ranked Heather Watson in straight sets 7-5, 6-3.

The tournament’s 13th seed struggled in the first set, but found her rhythm in the second, breaking Watson’s serve on three occasions.

“To get through in straight sets, I’m pretty happy,” said Stosur, who reached the Rogers Cup final in 2011. “Overall I thought I served pretty well. There weren’t a lot of points off my serve where she could dictate off the first shot.

“If I got a good strike, I was in good shape to win those points.”

Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina made quick work of qualifier Jennifer Brady, winning 6-2, 6-4.

Numerous rain delays lasting a combined four hours extended the afternoon session and forced organizers to alter the schedule.

Canadian Francoise Abanda had her first-round match postponed because of the weather. Abanda …

continue reading in source espn.go.com