Sorana Cirstea wins to open title defense in Istanbul

ISTANBUL (AP) — Defending champion Sorana Cirstea has won her opening match at the clay-court Istanbul Championship, beating Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia 6-4, 6-1. The 32-year-old Romanian ended a 13-year wait for her second career singles title last year when she upset Elise Mertens in the final. Mertens is again the top seed in Istanbul and plays a first-round match against Rebecca Peterson of Sweden on Wednesday.