Despite dropping her serve in the opening game of the second, Sevastova, seeded 16th, rallied back to force a decider. Sharapova, who had never lost a third-set tiebreak, needed a brave forehand winner at 6-5 before sealing a second-round spot in just over three hours. She will take on the winner between American qualifier Jennifer Brady and Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in the second round. Kerber, the former world number one, came back from a break down to win five consecutive games in the second set to seal a second-round spot. Twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, seeded 12th, produced an impressive array of powerful groundstrokes to beat fellow Czech left-hander Kristyna Pliskova 6-3 7-5 in the opening round.

Source: The Star September 30, 2017 15:33 UTC