BEIJING—Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber came back from a break down twice in the first set to beat Carla Suarez Navarro, 7-6 (4), 6-1, in the second round of the China Open on Tuesday.
“The conditions with the shadow on court were not so easy to play in the first set,” the third-ranked Kerber said.
Defending champion Caroline Garcia survived another tough match to book her place in the third round when she defeated Polona Hercog, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
Garcia was stretched to three sets in her first-round win over Yafan Wang.
Garcia will next face new Wuhan Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, who saw off Garbine Muguruz 7-5, 6-4 on her third match point.
No. 8-seeded Naomi Osaka celebrated qualifying for her first Women’s Tennis Association Finals next month by beating Danielle Collins of the United States, 6-1, 6-0. Osaka was broken in the first game and won the next 12.
She faces No. 10-seeded Julia Goerges for a place in the quarterfinals.
Qiang Wang blanked No. 12-seeded Jelena Ostapenko, 6-0, 6-0. Ostapenko struggled with a left arm injury.
No. 9-seeded Sloane Stephens qualified for the round of 16 for the second time when she beat Saisai Zheng, 6-1, 6-3.
No. 1-ranked Simona Halep, meanwhile, has a herniated disk in her back, putting the rest of her season in doubt.
Halep wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that she had an MRI exam that revealed the injury.
She retired from her first-round match at the China Open on Sunday, citing a back problem that has been bothering her.
The season-ending WTA Finals begin in Singapore on October 21.
Halep has lost her past four matches, including at the US Open. She became the first top-seeded woman to lose in the opening round in New York in the 50-year professional era.
The Romanian, who turned 27 last week, is 46-10 with three titles in 2018. Halep won her first Grand Slam championship at the French Open in June, and was the runner-up at the Australian Open in January.
Image credits: AP