Marina Erakovic has progressed through the first round of the WTA US$220,000 AEGON Classic in Birmingham beating World Number 84 Ayumi Morita.

Erakovic was up 5-0 in the first set after just 18 minutes when Morita retired with an injury. The grass tournament is the first time out of six matches they have played that Erakovic has come out on top.

Marina has a strong singles, win - loss record at the Birmingham tournament, 9-3.

Marina as the tournament's nineth seed will play Laura Robson of Britain in the second round tonight (New Zealand Time)