Solid win for top-seed Venus

Quebec City - US top seed Venus Williams advanced to the second round of the WTA tournament at Quebec City on Tuesday with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Canada's Francoise Abanda.

The 19th-ranked American, coming off a third-round exit at the US Open, connected on only 59 percent of her first serves but won three-quarters of those points, including five aces, on the way to dispatching her 17-year-old rival in 85 minutes.

Next in the path of the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion will be Ukraine's 242nd-ranked Olga Savchuk, who defeated Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski 6-3, 7-5 to reach the second round of a WTA event for the first time this season.

Williams seeks her 46th career WTA crown and her second of the year after winning at Dubai.

The 34-year-old elder sister of world number one Serena Williams, who won her 18th Grand Slam title Sunday at the US Open, has claimed only two WTA titles since 2010, a year before she was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, which can cause fatigue and dizziness.

French third seed Kristina Mladenovic advanced by beating Britain's Naomi Broady 6-4, 7-5 while Czech Lucie Hradecka ousted Portugal's sixth-seeded Michelle Larcher De Brito 7-6 (7/4), 6-1.

Results on Tuesday from the second day of a Quebec City WTA tournament (x denotes seed):

First round

Lucie Hradecka (CZE) bt Michelle Larcher De Brito (POR x6) 7-6 (7/4), 6-1
Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) bt Sachia Vickery (USA) 6-2, 6-4
Olga Savchuk (UKR) bt Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN) 6-3, 7-5
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) bt Veronica Cepede Royg (PAR) 6-3, 6-1
Melanie Oudin (USA) bt Alize Lim (FRA) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA x3) bt Naomi Broady (GBR) 6-4, 7-5
Timea Babos (HUN x8) bt Romina Oprandi (SUI) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Venus Williams (USA x1) bt Francoise Abanda (CAN) 7-5, 6-3
Ajla Tomljanovic (CRO x2) bt Irina Falconi (USA) 6-4, 6-1