Former Stuttgart champion Laura Siegemund will face world No 1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia in the second round of the clay-court WTA tourna...
Former Stuttgart champion Laura Siegemund will face world No 1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia in the second round of the clay-court WTA tournament after seeing off qualifier Mona Barthel on Tuesday.
Siegemund, 33, who won the Stuttgart tournament in 2017 and reached the 2016 final, needed just over two hours to seal a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 first-round win over Barthel, who fired down four aces without reply.
Former double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic won her first round match with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady of the USA.
Kvitova, the seventh seed in Stuttgart and the 2019 champion, will face Maria Sakkari of Greece in the second round.
“I was surprised to have to face her so early,” said Kvitova, with Brady ranked 14th in the world, just four places below her.
“It could just as easily have been a Grand Slam quarter-final or something like that. I struggled with my serves at the start, but it was great to be back on the court and I feel well here. I’m looking forward to playing Maria.”
Earlier, Anett Kontaveit of Estonia set up a second-round tie with third-seed Sofia Kenin of the USA after a 6-2, 6-3 win over German qualifier Julia Middendorf.
Later fifth-seed...