Bettl Open: Garbine Muguruza, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber march on
The three former world number ones each made relatively light work of their opening clashes in Berlin, with Muguruza seeing off Sorana Cirstea 6-3 6-2.
Muguruza, the 2017 Wimbledon champion, expressed satisfaction with her performance on a return to the grass courts, with that part of the season wiped out in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Very pleased,” Muguruza said on court after going 24-8 on the season.
“You never know how it’s going to go in the first match, especially on grass after two years, so I’m very excited to win in two sets against Sorana.
“We’ve played many times, and it’s always difficult.”
She will next face Elena Rybakina who, after beating Serena Williams en route to the French Open quarter-finals, came from a set down to see off Shelby Rogers.
