STAVANGER, Norway — The Canadian senior curling teams opened the world championships with victories over Russia on Saturday at Sormarka Arena.

Defending women's champion Sherry Anderson of Saskatoon defeated Tatiana Smirnova 11-4 and Bryan Cochrane of Russell, Ont., beat Igor Minin 11-5.

Both Canadian teams are 1-0 in their respective pools.

Anderson will play Finland's Mari Hansen and Sweden's Anette Norberg on Sunday while Cochrane, who won silver at this event in 2017, will face Kazakhstan's Viktor Kim.

Round-robin play continues through Thursday and the medal games are scheduled for April 27.