Angelique Kerber opened up her WTA Championships campaign with a 6-2 7-6(3) victory over Petra Kvitova in Singapore this afternoon.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova had struggled for fitness in recent weeks and Kerber went on to take full advantage of her rustiness to claim the opening set in just 28 minutes.
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However, 2011 winner Kvitova responded positively in the second set and even had two set points to force a decider, but she was unable to convert either of them.
Consequently, a tie-breaker was required and from early on Germany's Kerber took control, before she went on to secure her straight-sets win.
She will now take on either Garbine Muguruza or Lucie Safarova in her second group fixture on Wednesday.
