Tennis: Serena breezes into second round in Auckland

Top seed Serena Williams kick-started her Auckland Classic singles campaign with an easy 6-3, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi on Tuesday.

Playing her first singles match since losing last year's US Open final to Bianca Andreescu, the 38-year-old Williams fired eight aces and was hardly troubled by Giorgi.

Williams broke the Italian's serve three times, while remaining unbroken herself in a first round-match lasting 68 minutes.

Giorgi, 28, could not cope with Williams' powerful serve as the 23-times Grand Slam winner prevailed in blustery conditions, stretching her unbeaten run against her Italian opponent to five matches.

"It was really fun to be out here and back again," Williams said.

"It's really good to know I still have some power in my arms and legs."

Williams, who advanced to the doubles quarter-finals with Caroline Wozniacki on Monday, is on course to face 15-year-old compatriot Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals should both advance.

"I definitely think the doubles helped me a lot, especially with my serve," the American added. "I served pretty decent, considering the conditions."

Fifth seed Wozniacki, who is set to retire after this month's Australian Open, outclassed local wildcard Paige Hourigan 6-1, 6-0.

Hourigan, ranked 178 in the world, trailed 5-0 in the opening set in 13 minutes and her tally of 30 unforced errors proved decisive.

"Definitely disappointed because I had a great week of preparation here and I felt very confident going in," Hourigan said.

"I was making a lot of errors which I wasn't doing throughout the week... Wozniacki is a great player and it was tough conditions out there."

German fourth seed and defending champion Julia Gorges advanced to the last 16 with a 6-1 7-6(4) victory over Belgium's Greet Minnen.

Second seed Petra Martic of Croatia was initially frustrated by lucky loser Usue Maitane Arconada before storming back to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Osaka sees off Sakkari challenge to advance in Brisbane

Two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka began her 2020 season with a 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3 win over Maria Sakkari in the opening round of the Brisbane International on Tuesday.

Osaka fired 16 aces and broke her Greek opponent four times in the two hour, seven minutes encounter, but struggled in the second set tiebreak when Sakkari won five points in a row before squaring the match on an unforced error from the Japanese.

The pair traded breaks in the opening stages of the final set before former world number one Osaka clinched victory, despite double faulting on her first match point.

"I knew going into it that it was going to be a really hard match," Osaka said.

"I think in the second set I was just complaining a lot in the tiebreak. I was just trying to calm down and stay positive."

Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens, 24th in the WTA rankings, fell at the first hurdle to Liudmila Samsonova, who is ranked more than 100 places below her. The 129th ranked Russian won 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Stephens's compatriot and eighth seed Madison Keys advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova.

Maria Sharapova will play Jennifer Brady later on Tuesday in her first match since exiting last year's US Open in the first round.

Top seed Bencic, defending champ Sabalenka ousted in Shenzhen

Swiss top seed Belinda Bencic and Belarusian defending champion Aryna Sabalenka were both knocked out on a day of upsets at China's Shenzhen Open on Tuesday.

Russia's Anna Blinkova claimed the first top-10 win of her career when she came from behind to beat Bencic 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round while Sabalenka was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by the Czech Republic's Kristyna Pliskova in the last-16.

Blinkova started poorly against world number eight Bencic and was broken three times in the opening set. But she never dropped her serve thereafter, firing 12 aces and breaking Bencic five times to advance to the second round.

"It was a great performance from me today," Blinkova said.

"I prepared very carefully and I'm happy that I played good tennis. I was thinking to just fight for every point.

"I didn't feel great in the beginning of the match, I didn't feel the ball and my shots. I didn't play bad, but I managed to increase the level of my game slowly, step by step."

Second seed Sabalenka had 11 break points in the match, including nine in the second set, but could not convert even one as a dogged Pliskova served well under intense pressure.

"She's playing so fast so I had to be ready from the first point," Pliskova said.

"My serve was there, which is always important, so I'm happy that I won.

"I reached the quarter-finals here two years ago, so I'm happy to be back there and looking to see if I can do more."

It was not a good day for the Chinese either, with Wang Xiyu falling 6-4, 6-3 to third seed Elise Mertens in the last-16 while eighth seed Zhang Shuai was beaten 7-6(10), 6-3 by Kateryna Bondarenko.

Edited by Norma Godinho