American teenager Taylor Townsend came up a winner in her WTA debut, while former champion Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia was tested in her first-round match at the $5.186 million BNP Paribas Open.
The season-ending WTA Championships are on tap for next week in Istanbul, where the world's top-eight women, with the exception of Maria Sharapova, will battle for bragging rights ... and a lot of money.
Top-seeded and defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska and former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki were ousted in the second round at the Sydney International tennis event on Tuesday, while former Wimbledon titlist Petra Kvitova moved on.
Last year's runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska suffered a quarterfinal upset, while former world No. 1 star Venus Williams reached the semifinals at the $2.37 million Pan Pacific Open tennis event.
Madison Square Garden hosted four tennis legends on Monday night, as John McEnroe faced off against Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi took on Pete Sampras in an exhibition event.
Second-seeded former champion Maria Sharapova and fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska cruised in their third-round matches Friday at the Australian Open.
Former world No. 1 stars Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams will be among those playing some exhibition tennis at New York's Madison Square Garden in March.
Top seed Angelique Kerber of Germany moved into the quarterfinals at the Citi Open tennis event with a 7-5, 6-0 win over American Melanie Oudin Thursday afternoon.