Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka fired 16 aces past Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic to earn a 7-6(6), 7-6(4) victory at the Bad Homburg Open on Monday for her first win on grass this season less than a week before the start of Wimbledon.
The 27-year-old Japanese player, who had lost in the first round at her last two tournaments -- the French Open and the Berlin Open -- had won her first title in May in almost two years following a maternity break.
Osaka, who had reached the third round of the Australian Open in January before retiring injured, has not had back-to-back wins on any surface since the Italian Open in May. She is currently ranked 56th in the world.
"It's my first grasscourt win of the year," Osaka said.
"I am excited about that. I am super excited to play here and be back for my next round."
Asked whether she was on track to improve her form on the surface, she said: "I hope so. I think I have potential but everyone is really good so I cannot take it for granted."
The pair held serve to take the first set into a tiebreak where Osaka snatched it on her second set point.
Osaka was 40-0 up on her opponent's serve at 2-2 in the second set but she could not bag the first break of either player in the match, with Danilovic holding serve with her eighth ace of the match.
Osaka, however, got the mini-break she needed in the tiebreak when she challenged a Danilovic first serve that was then ruled out, with the qualifier then double-faulting.
She held on to that slim advantage to earn a spot in the round of 16 where she will face fifth-seed Emma Navarro.
Russian eighth-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova also eased into the next round with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Swiss Belinda Bencic.
Croatia's Donna Vekic made equally light work of sixth seed southpaw Diana Shnaider for a 6-3, 6-3 victory.
Clara Tauson of Denmark needed to work harder and battle from a set down before snatching a 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3 against Poland's Magdalena Frech.
Fonseca clinches first grass-court win, Sun ousts defending champion Kasatkina in Eastbourne
Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca claimed his first tour-level win on grass with a 6-7(8), 6-0, 6-3 victory over Zizou Bergs to reach the second round at Eastbourne on Monday.
The 18-year-old qualifier, who earned the biggest win of his career over then world number nine Andrey Rublev in the Australian Open first round earlier this year, will next face defending champion Taylor Fritz.
Bergs edged a tense first set in the tiebreak, saving all three break points he faced, while Fonseca fended off both on his serve. Fonseca responded with a bagel in the second set to level the match.
He raced to a 3-0 lead in the third. Although Bergs broke back for 3-2, Fonseca responded immediately, restoring his advantage to 4-2 as the Belgian continued to struggle. He sealed the win with a confident hold to love.
"I am very happy to win my first match on grass, here in Eastbourne, in such a nice place and against a very good player," Fonseca said.
"After a tough tiebreak, getting through mentally is very good. I am very happy for this one."
New Zealand's Lulu Sun defeated top seed Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Sun raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set before Kasatkina stormed back to lead 5-4, but the 24-year-old Kiwi regained control by reeling off the final three games to take it 7-5.
Russian-born Australian Kasatkina responded by going up 4-2 in the second, breaking for 5-2 and serving it out to level.
Sun broke for 2-0 and surged ahead to 3-0 in the decider, keeping Kasatkina on the back foot. The defending champion struggled to create chances as Sun dictated the rallies to secure the win.
Safiullin upsets Muller, Moutet through in Mallorca
Russian Roman Safiullin upset French fifth seed Alexandre Muller 7-6(5) 7-5 in a tight opening-round contest at the Mallorca Open on Monday, while Corentin Moutet overcame home favourite Pedro Martinez 4-6 6-3 6-0 to reach the round of 16.
Safiullin put pressure on Muller from the outset but the Frenchman fought hard to force a first-set tiebreak, which the Russian claimed 7-5.
Muller, who has only two career wins on grass, took a two-game lead in the second but Safiullin recovered to clinch it and will next face Serbia's Hamad Medjedovic, who defeated American Nishesh Basavareddy 6-0 6-4.
Muller's compatriot Moutet, fresh off his stunning victory over Taylor Fritz at Queen's last week, struggled with frustration in the first set against Martinez, smashing rackets and voicing his anger before losing the opener.
The second set saw a more composed Moutet, who capitalised on Martinez's injury concerns to level the match before sealing a berth in the next round with a bagel in the decider.
"I'm coming from Queen's, so I didn't have much time to recover," said Moutet, who will now play German eighth seed Daniel Altmaier. "I was trying to recover from the long matches I played there.
"I know you were rooting for the Spanish guy, so sorry for that, but I'm happy to be here one more round in a few days."
Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech beat Bosnian veteran Damir Dzumhur 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to next meet Canadian second seed Felix Auger Aliassime while sixth seed Gabriel Diallo defeated Spain's Jaume Munar 7-5 6-3 to book a meeting with Serbian Laslo Djere.
American Ethan Quinn, who cruised past Argentinian Camilo Ugo Carabelli, will face Dutch fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor. Fellow American Learner Tien also advanced and is set to take on top seed Ben Shelton in an all-American second-round match.
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