By Chris Oddo

Photo Credit: Ross Kinnaird/ Getty

(June 12, 2012)—Former world No. 31 Melanie Oudin continued her improved form of late with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 upset of tenth-seeded Sorana Cirstea in the AEGON Classic in Birmingham, England today.

Oudin, who is fresh off her first Grand Slam win since 2010, did not face a break point in the final two sets against the Romanian. Oudin has now defeated Cirstea in each of their two meetings.

The top eight seeds received byes into the second round, but there was still plenty of action around the grounds today.

It was a banner day for the Brits as five British women gained safe passage into round two for the first time in the tournament’s 30-year history.

Wildcard and world No. 320 Tara Moore pulled the upset of the day when she defeated eleventh-seeded Czech Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-2. Laura Robson and Heather Watson were also among the victorious Brits, as was Anne Keothavong, who upset twelfth-seeded Tamira Paszek in straight sets.

The only seeded player to win today was ninth-seeded Marina Erakovic of New Zealand. Erakovic advanced when Ayumi Morita retired down 5-0 after 18-minutes on court.

Top-Seeded Goerges Upset by Qualifier at Bad Gastein

It was a rough day for world No. 25 Julia Goerges in Austria. In spite of a fifteen-ace performance, Goerges couldn’t stop the surge of qualifier Richel Hogenkamp of the Netherlands, who notched the decisive break on her fifth break point of the final set. The 20-year-old was playing in her first WTA main draw after failing to qualify in her three previous qualifying attempts.

“Today I played without any pressure,” said the qualifier, on how she was able to knock out the only defending champ in this year’s draw.

The other three seeds in action were all victorious today, as Yanina Wickmayer, Carla Suarez Navarro, and Alize Cornet all won in straight sets.