Kanepi, 35, from Haapsalu, and ranked 62nd in the world, had had to qualify for the tournament, doing so by beating Ena Shibahara of Japan, and Russian player Vera Zvonareva.

In a game which lasted a little over an hour-and-three-quarters, the first set was close and went to a tie-breaker, which Rogers wrapped up convincingly with four points in a row. The second set she was even more in control, taking it 6:2.

Kanepi actually served up one more ace, at five, than her opponent, while both committed three double faults each. While the players scored practically the same proportion of their first and second services, Kanepi got just 44 percent of her first service in compared with 68 percent for Rogers. Kanepi won 54 percent of her first service points and 40 percent of her second; the same figures for Rogers were 60 percent and 46 percent respectively.

Rogers is currently somewhat of a bogie player for Estonia's tennis stars – she knocked Anett Kontaveit out of round three of the Australian Open last month.

Kontavit herself is still in the tournament, played on the hard courts of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, after beating Timea Babos in straight sets, and next plays Sorana Cirstea of Romania.

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