MONTREAL — Caroline Wozniacki made a triumphant return to tennis, defeating Kimberly Birrell in straight units on the National Bank Open on Tuesday.

Wozniacki dominated from the beginning, securing a 6-2, 6-2 victory whereas pushing her Australian opponent throughout the court docket throughout rallies. The Dane will face Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, who beat Mayar Sherif of Egypt 6-4, 6-2.

“It’s like riding a bike basically,” Wozniacki instructed reporters after the match. “You never forget it once you’re in there.”

The former World No. 1 and 2018 Australian Open champion acquired a wild-card entry into the National Bank Open primary draw after retiring in 2020 to begin a household.

“It was so strange because I went to bed last night, and I go, ‘wait, so the kids have to wake up, and then we eat breakfast together, and then, wait, how does that fit in with my schedule?’” stated Wozniacki of making ready for a match as a mom for the primary time.

“And I tried to explain to (2-year-old daughter) Olivia I was going to play a match, and she goes: ‘OK, Mama, I have a wish. I wish you win.’”

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over American qualifier Peyton Stearns in first-round motion.

The 20-year-old from Laval, Quebec, barely left the lead to doubt, taking management from the start and successful the match in 76 minutes in entrance of a partisan Centre Court crowd that steadily grew all through the afternoon at IGA Stadium.

It was Fernandez’s first match in entrance of her hometown crowd since turning into a Grand Slam finalist on the 2021 U.S. Open.

Fernandez, who hit 5 aces within the match and held serve all however as soon as, began off robust, occurring the offensive and breaking Stearn’s serve twice en path to taking the opening set.

“Please come to the next match and cheer me on,” Fernandez instructed the gang on court docket after the victory.

Last day out on the National Bank Open in Montreal in 2021, Fernandez misplaced within the opening spherical with the variety of followers restricted as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

Fernandez reached a career-high No. 13 rating one 12 months in the past. Now she’s 81st and seeking to climb again up.

“My ranking has dropped which is very, very unfortunate,” stated Fernandez in her pre-tournament media availability. “But I think my game has been improving. The results aren’t there, but every training session we’re working hard we’re trying to improve as much as possible.”

In the following spherical, she’ll face No. 11 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil - who beat Fernandez within the second spherical in Toronto final 12 months.

American qualifier Danielle Collins wanted simply 72 minutes to remove Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in two units, 6-2, 6-2 in an earlier match.

Collins, who defeated Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard on Saturday, will subsequent face eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece.

Later Tuesday, Bianca Andreescu, of Mississauga, Ontario, was scheduled to fulfill Italy’s Camilla Giorgi in a battle of two former National Bank Open champions.

The WTA 1000-level match runs by means of Sunday.

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