Witthoeft, Friedsam through at Open de Limoges

German duo Carina Witthoeft and Anna-Lena Friedsam advanced in the Open de Limoges first round.

The up-and-comers were tested before winning through at the WTA 125K event played on hard-courts in France.

Witthoeft, the seventh seed, overcame local teenager Tessah Andrianjafitrimo 7-6 (8-6) 6-2.

The eighth-seeded Friedsam edged qualifier Anna Blinkova 6-3 2-6 6-3.

It was a good day for the seeds as Danka Kovinic and Margarita Gasparyan also progressed.

Kovinic was too good for Anastasija Sevastova 6-4 6-3, while 21-year-old Gasparyan " this year's Baku Cup champion " beat Andrea Gamiz 6-2 7-5.

Croatian Donna Vekic lost just 11 points in the third set of her 6-2 6-7 (2-7) 6-0 win over Amandine Hesse.

Maryna Zanevska needed two hours, 46 minutes to overcome Silvia Soler-Espinosa 4-6 6-3 7-6 (8-6), while Kateryna Kozlova claimed a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win over lucky loser Barbora Krejcikova.