In the first round of the China Open women’s draw, world No 2 Iga Swiatek defeated Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets in Beijing on Monday.
The Pole, who recently relinquished her hold on the number-one spot to Aryna Sabalenka, enjoyed considerable success at the net on her way to a 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Swiatek will play France’s Varvara Gracheva in the second round.
“I feel like I was pretty patient. You have to be patient with her because she’s running for every ball,” the 22-year-old said after the match.
“I kind of wanted to just be solid and be intensive but not make too many mistakes with risking,” she added.
“I’m pretty happy I could balance that. It just worked, so I’m happy.”
Also on Monday, world No 7 Ons Jabeur beat American Ashlyn Krueger 6-3, 6-4 to set up a second-round tie against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
US Open champion Coco Gauff takes to the court against Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday afternoon.
Sabalenka knocked out former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin to seal her spot in the second round.
The China Open is taking place for the first time since 2019 after Beijing abandoned its long-standing zero-Covid policy.
Meanwhile, World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka sailed into the second round of the China Open with an imperious 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Sofia Kenin.
The Belarusian pummelled Kenin with a succession of mighty serves and groundstrokes and wrapped up the opening set with an ace after just 23 minutes.
The 25-year-old broke serve twice more in the second set as Kenin – playing with heavy strapping on her left thigh – failed to muster a response.
Sabalenka sealed the match with yet another unreturned serve to set up a tie against either Magdalena Frech or Katie Boulter in the next round.
All of the world’s top eight are taking part in the women’s draw this year, with second-ranked Iga Swiatek due to play Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.
The China Open is taking place for the first time since 2019 after Beijing ended its isolationist zero-Covid policies.
The women’s tournament is also in action for the first time since the global governing body ended a boycott of China this year.
