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.
Classic from Iga 🤌@iga_swiatek | #ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/0u1F8FP3Ic
— wta (@WTA) October 2, 2023
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.
Keeping the winning streak going ❤️🔥
— wta (@WTA) October 2, 2023
Ningbo champion @Ons_Jabeur continues her fine form, defeating Krueger in her Beijing opener!#ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/Sq6FuZNLp6
US Open champion Coco Gauff takes to the court against Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday afternoon.
Sabalenka knocked out former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin on Sunday 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.