BERLIN (AP) — Caroline Garcia defeated local favorite Sabine Lisicki 7-6 (2), 6-3 and Petra Kvitova also progressed from the first round of the Berlin Open on Monday.
The third-seeded Garcia was made to fight hard till she made the decisive break at 4-3 in the second set. The French player saved the three break points she faced and converted two from 13 opportunities. Both players hit 15 aces each.
"It's funny because we were both practicing at the same place and we practiced with each other and (then) we had to face each other in the first round. It's always this kind of story," Garcia said. "But it was really complicated … it's always a good fight and I'm happy to see Sabine playing in a tournament again."
The 33-year-old Lisicki reached the Wimbledon final in 2013 but has had to contend with numerous injury setbacks in recent years and is ranked 308th.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova earlier defeated Czech compatriot Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-4. Croatia's Donna Vekic defeated Russian player Varvara Gracheva 6-3, 6-2.