China’s Zheng Qinwen easily disposed of Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Porsche Grand Prix on Tuesday, after making a long journey from China to find herself on German clay.
Zheng, the fifth seed, traveled from Changsha to Beijing, before making a stopover in Frankfurt and landing in Stuttgart. She did not seem too affected by the time difference, after having sealed the outcome of the meeting in 76 minutes.
Zheng will face the winner of the match between Marta Kostyuk and a former tournament champion, Germany’s Laura Siegemund, in the second round.
Jasmine Paolini obtained a quick victory at the expense of her compatriot and doubles partner Sara Errani, 6-1 and 6-0. The match lasted only 46 minutes.
Paolini will now cross swords with Ekaterina Alexandrova or Ons Jabeur.
Belgian Elise Mertens finished strong and beat Tatjana Maria 6-1, 4-6, 6-0, setting the table for a second-round duel against the event’s two-time defending champion, Iga Swiatek. The Pole is trying to become the first player to win three consecutive titles in Stuttgart since Russian Maria Sharapova (2012, 2013 and 2014).
Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova ousted Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-3.
In the next round, she will meet a Russian — Liudmila Samsonova or Anastasia Potapova.
Linda Noskova, 31st in the world, caused a surprise by winning 6-3, 6-1 over Jelena Ostapenko, eighth seed.
Eight of the top 10 players in the world participate in this tournament. No Canadians are registered there.
2024-04-16 20:21:41
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