Stuttgart (Germany): Simona Halep returned from injury to start her clay-court season with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Marketa Vondrousova to reach the quarterfinals of the Porsche Grand Prix.
The third-ranked Romanian was back on court for the first time since a shoulder injury forced her out of the Miami Open last month, and in only her second match since her straight-sets loss to Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarterfinals in February.
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There was no sign of rust as Halep wrapped up her win over Vondrousova in less than an hour without facing a single break point. Halep plays either Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarterfinals after the Russian upset eighth-seeded Belinda Bencic 6-1, 7-5.
Elina Svitolina came through a tougher test as she beat three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber 7-6 (4), 6-3. Svitolina was 3-1 down in the tiebreaker before winning six of the next seven points, and didn't face a break point in the second set. The fourth-seeded Ukrainian will face Petra Kvitova in the quarters.
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Karolina Pliskova hit 21 aces as she beat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-3 to set up a meeting with top-ranked Ash Barty.
Fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka swept past Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-4, 6-2. Sabalenka next faces Anett Kontaveit after the Estonian eliminated Sofia Kenin on Wednesday.
