Tennis: Halep, Sharapova off to flying start

SHENZHEN, China: World number one Simona Halep began the year in emphatic style with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Nicole Gibbs as Maria Sharapova also romped through her first-round match at the Shenzhen Open on Monday. Romania’s Halep, who will be seeking her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in two weeks’ time, struck 12 winners to blitz the 110th-ranked American in one hour and nine minutes.

“We had a big crowd, which was nice to play in front of,” Halep said after her first-round match in the southern Chinese city, where she won in 2015. Halep won the first set with the help of an aggressive forehand, and then opened the second set with a crunching backhand winner down the line before running away with the match. “It’s always nice to play here in Shenzhen,” she added. “I won a title here three years ago already. It’s my first victory this year as number one in the world, so I’m just happy and enjoying the time.”

Meanwhile five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova, making her Shenzhen debut, also despatched Romania’s world number 56 Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-3, 6-0 in an hour and 20 minutes. The Russian, who is embarking on her first full season since returning from a 15-month doping ban in April, sealed her straight sets win after striking 18 winners to 20 unforced errors. “It’s quite remarkable to see a full stadium for a first round,” she said. “It’s my first time here, so I didn’t know what to expect.” Halep will next face China’s Duan Yingying while Sharapova will play American Alison Riske in the second round.

Goerges beats Puig in marathon 3-setter: Second seed Julia Goerges overcame a rusty start to beat her nemesis Monica Puig in a marathon three-setter on a rain-disrupted opening day of the WTA Auckland Classic on Monday. It was the first time in five attempts that the 29-year-old German has beaten the Puerto Rican Olympic champion and it took her 13 aces to win 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. “What a beginning to the New Year,” Goerges said after more than two hours battling on court.

“I’ve never beaten Monica before so I knew what was going to come.”Goerges was thankful for her powerful serve which constantly rescued her from tight spots. “That’s one of my weapons. I’m trying to keep that up on the important points and sometimes you get some free points which is nice and I was happy I could put it in in some very important moments.” Only four singles matches were completed on a rain-affected day, which saw Goerges and Puig take the court after 11pm, more than four hours later than scheduled. They finished two hours and 12 minutes later. The German was down 2-4 early before recovering to take the first set 6-4. Puig broke Goerges at 5-4 to take the second set before Goerges pulled off three service breaks to take the deciding third set. Belgian Kirsten Flipkens continued her dominance of Donna Vekic, disposing of the eighth seed 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-4 to have a 5-0 record against the Croat. In a tense third set Flipkens broke early, dropped her serve at 4-3 and then broke again to be 5-4 up. When serving for the match she was 15-40 down before steadying herself to take the next four points.