Caroline Wozniacki and Ashleigh Barty made a winning return to tennis after the duo moved past their respective first-round opponents at the WTA International Aegon Open in Nottingham on Tuesday.
While Wozniacki featured in her first match in three months due to an ankle injury, Barty played her maiden recognized tournament this week after switching back from cricket to tennis earlier this month.
Wozniacki, the No. 3 seed, looked tentative towards the beginning but soon found her foot going as she cruised for a 7-5 6-3 conquest of Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay in one hour and 41 minutes.
Barty, who won three matches of qualification without dropping a set to make the main draw here, looked in sublime touch en route a 6-3 6-2 beating of China’s Shuai Peng in just 70 minutes.
Elsewhere, local hope Laura Robson stumbled to her first opening-round exit in as many tournaments following her 6-3 7-5 capitulation against Portuguese qualifier Michelle Larcher De Brito.
Sixth-seeded local favorite Heather Watson also crashed out of the event after squandering an early lead to go down 4-6 6-0 6-4 to unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia.
BRIEF RESULTS
(Q) A Barty d. S Peng 6-3 6-2
(L) A Hlavackova d. (5) Y Wickmayer 7-5 7-6
(4) M Puig d. (Q) K Zhang 6-1 6-1
(Q) MLD Brito d. (W) L Robson 6-3 7-5
(L) T Paszek d. K Nara 6-4 6-2
M Rybarikova d. (6) Heather Watson 4-6 6-0 6-4
A Riske d. (7) M Barthel 6-2 6-1
S Hsieh d. N Broady 6-2 6-1
(3) C Wozniacki d. C Buyukakcay 7-5 6-3
(Q) T Moore d. D Vekic 6-2 7-5
