Sunitha Rao shrugged off a poor start to beat Kristina Kuvoca of Slovakia in a tough three-setter and advance to the singles second round of the US $50,000 ITF women's tennis tournament in Boston, USA.

The United States-based Indian, seeded fifth, rallied to beat her Slovakian opponent 1-6 6-4 7-6(4) in the first round of the hardcourt event.

Sunitha, the second highest-ranked Indian in the WTA charts, next faces American qualifier Gail Brodsky, who defeated compatriot Amanda Fink 4-6 6-2 6-4 in her first round match.

However, Sunitha's campaign in the doubles was cut short in the first round after losing with partner Melinda Czink.

The Indo-Hungarian pair, seeded third, lost 6-4, 4-6, 12-14 to the American duo of Mallory Cecil and Amanda Fink.