Karolina Pliskova, Bianca Andreescu, Daria Kasatkina make winning starts in Berlin
The reigning Wimbledon women's runner-up turned the tide against Kaia Kanepi, 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-0, to start her title quest.
BERLIN (AP) — Karolina Pliskova started her grass-court season beating Kaia Kanepi 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-0 in the first round of the Berlin Open on Monday, when Bianca Andreescu and Daria Kasatkina also won.
The fourth-seeded Pliskova, last year's beaten Wimbledon finalist, rallied as Kanepi faded after their hard-fought first set.
Pliskova next faces Andreescu in the second round. The Canadian player defeated Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
The sixth-seeded Kasatkina defeated Ukrainian player Anhelina Kalinina 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 in 2 hours, 17 minutes. The Russian player has won 10 of her last 12 matches. She next plays compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova or Belgium's Maryna Zanevska.
Also, Australian qualifier Daria Saville fought back to defeat Swiss player Jil Teichmann 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-2.