MADRID: World number two Angelique Kerber eased into round two of the Madrid Open on Sunday with a convincing 6-4, 6-2 win over Hungary's Timea Babos.
The German is the top seed in the draw with world number one Serena Williams absent as the 23-time Grand Slam champion is expecting her first child.
Kerber's form has been inconsistent this season, but she was rarely troubled in wrapping up victory in just over an hour on court.
Maria Sharapova continues her comeback from a 15-month doping ban later on Sunday when she faces Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
The Russian could set up a mouth-watering grudge match against Canada's Eugenie Bouchard in the second round with victory.
Bouchard called Sharapova "a cheater" last week and suggested she should have been banned for life after testing positive for meldonium at the 2015 Australian Open.