Aryna Sabalenka battled past Rebecca Sramkova 4-6 6-3 6-2 to reach the third round of the Wuhan Open.
Sabalenka was playing her first match since winning the US Open last month and looked far from her best early on as Sramkova came out flying only to be overpowered by the four-time Grand Slam champion, who is unbeaten in 18 Wuhan Open matches.
She will face Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova in the next round on Thursday morning, live on Sky Sports Tennis.
“Rebecca played incredible tennis, especially in the first set. There wasn’t much I could do,” said Sabalenka.
“I knew after my little break [from tennis in the last month], it would not be easy to get back into my rhythm but I’m really glad in the second set I found my game and I stepped in and played really great.”
Both players failed to hold their first service games before Sramkova broke again in the third game, this time proving decisive, with Sabalenka’s rustiness evident.
The Slovakian made few errors to not allow Sabalenka back into the first set, which she wrapped up with a strong love hold in 35 minutes.
Aryna Sabalenka is the reigning US Open champion
Sabalenka responded by increasing her aggression to break in the fourth game of the second set then saved four break points in a long seventh game which dented Sramkova’s confidence.
After clinching the second set, Sabalenka broke twice in the deciding set as she continued to combine power and accuracy to overcome her early scare and remain on track for a fourth straight Wuhan Open title.
Gauff, Pegula progress to third round
Coco Gauff comes into Wuhan after losing last week in the semi-finals to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova at the China Open and had a comfortable opening win on Wednesday.
World No 3 Gauff thrashed Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima 6-1 6-0 in just 51 minutes to set up a meeting with Chinese wild card Zhang Shuai.
Gauff’s compatriot Jessica Pegula was twice broken while serving for the match in the third set but recovered to edge Hailey Baptiste in a tight deciding tie-break Wednesday and advance at the Wuhan Open.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Wuhan Open Round of 32 match between Moyuka Uchijima and Coco Gauff
Sixth-seeded Pegula beat her fellow American 6-4 4-6 7-6 (8-6) on her seventh match point to reach the third round where she will play ninth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, who beat American Ann Li 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
Liudmila Samsonova rallied to beat 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, and qualifier Katerina Siniakova beat Maya Joint 6-3, 6-1.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tour, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.