Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki handed 16-year-old Russian wild card Anastasia Potapova a 6-0, 6-1 rout at the St Petersburg WTA event on Thursday in her first match since her maiden Grand Slam triumph.
The world number one, seeking her 29th singles title, swept to victory over the world number 235 in just 67 minutes and next faces sixth seeded Russian, Daria Kasatkina.
“I had to be well prepared for today’s match against a former junior Wimbledon champion even though she’s still so young,” Wozniacki said.
The 27-year-old Danish star added: “Kasatkina is a great player, she mixes up the pace a lot. It’s gonna be difficult but I’m excited for it.”
Defending champion Kristina Mladenovic of France, seeded fourth, ended a 15-match losing streak with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova to also reach the quarter-finals.
“Finally this series is over,” said 24-year-old Mladenovic.
“This win means a lot for me and I’m very pleased with the way I played, the way I handled my nerves and kept on going and fighting like I always do.”
Second round results:-
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x1) bt Anastasia Potapova (RUS) 6-0, 6-1
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA x4) bt Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 6-4, 6-4
Katerina Siniaková (CZE) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 7-6 (9/7), 7-5
Julia Goerges (GER x5) bt Roberta Vinci (ITA) 7-5, 6-0
Petra Kvitova (CZE) bt Irina-Camelia Begu (ROM) 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!