Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur and
former Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli highlighted Tuesday's opening-round
winners at the $740,000 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
The fifth-seeded 2010 Stuttgart runner-up Stosur leveled Chinese Peng Shuai
6-2, 6-2, while a seventh-seeded Bartoli blitzed Czech lefthander and
qualifier Iveta Benesova 6-3, 6-2 on the indoor red clay at Porsche Arena.
Reigning Stuttgart titlist Julia Goerges pleased the home crowd with a 5-7,
6-3, 6-4 victory over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The German Goerges
stunned a then-world No. 1 Wozniacki in last year's finale here.
Goerges will tangle with Stosur in her next outing.
Rising German Angelique Kerber clobbered Italian Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-3, while
former French Open champ and 2011 Roland Garros runner-up Francesca Schiavone
got past Romanian Monica Niculescu 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday. Schiavone will meet
Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova in the round of 16.
Kerber titled in Copenhagen two weeks ago by stunning former No. 1 Caroline
Wozniacki in the final.
Other Day-1 wins came for Hungarian qualifier Greta Arn and French qualifier
Alize Cornet, who blew past qualifier and fading former top-five star Anna
Chakvetadze of Russia 6-3, 6-4. Cornet is rewarded with a second-round match
against Russian star Maria Sharapova.
The top seeds at this star-studded event are world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka,
the former No. 1 Sharapova, and Kvitova. A sixth-seeded Wozniacki is also part
of the field.
The 2012 Stuttgart champion will claim $37,000 and a new Porsche.
The Sports Network