Venus Williams, Sharapova advance to second round with wins at China Open
BEIJING _ Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams moved into the second round at the China Open on Sunday with straight-set victories.
The fourth-seeded Sharapova overcame six double-faults to defeat Estonian Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 6-1, while the 16th-seeded Williams came back from a 3-0 deficit in the opening set to defeat Britain’s Heather Watson 6-3, 6-1.
In other first-round matches, Australian Samantha Stosur beat Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 6-2 to set up a second-round clash with the in-form Caroline Wozniacki, who reached the final of the U.S. Open earlier this month.
Other winners included No. 12-seeded Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, who beat Spain’s Garbine Muguruza 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-4, and No. 15-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany, who took out Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu 2-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4.
Alwin Marshall-Squire is the Editor-in-Chief of S-Q Publications Inc., overseeing editorial strategy for GTA Weekly, GTA Today, and Vision Newspaper. He leads the publications’ mission to deliver bold, original journalism focused on the people and communities of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, and the global Caribbean diaspora.
Also writes for GTA Weekly and GTA Today.