Sharapova advances at China Open after defeating Kanepi

Venus through to round two; Errani becomes first seed to tumble

BEIJING: World number four Maria Sharapova powered through her first-round match at the $5.4 million China Open on Sunday, but faces a tricky opponent at the next stage in Beijing.

The Russian beat Estonia's Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 6-1 in her opening match of the tournament, and will meet world number 34 Elina Svitolina in the second round.

The Ukrainian beat world number eight Angelique Kerber earlier this week at the WTA Wuhan Open to make it to the semi-finals of the premier-ranking event, and her confidence will be sky-high.

Meanwhile, Sharapova’s victory is her fourth against her 29-year-old opponent, but the Russian said she had to battle hard for the win.

"I thought I played a difficult opponent, someone that I've had trouble against in the past," she said. "I knew it was a challenging first-round opponent and I thought I handled that quite well considering I didn't have a great result last week."

Elsewhere in Beijing, Sara Errani became the first seed to tumble as Kurumi Nara of Japan sealed a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams eased through her first-round tie against British rising star Heather Watson 6-3, 6-1.

Nadal targets Djokovic’s perfect China record

Rafael Nadal makes his long-awaited return to action at the China Open this week, where he will be seeking to challenge world number one Novak Djokovic's hundred per cent record in Beijing.

Nadal, who has not competed since Wimbledon after picking up a right wrist injury, makes his comeback at a tournament he has happy memories of from last year, when he reclaimed the top spot after a previous injury layoff.

The Spaniard returned to the number one spot after dominating 2013's hard court events and making the final at Beijing's Olympic Park, a game he lost to Djokovic.

The current world number three has slipped down the rankings due to his absence from all competition, and with Djokovic winning four of the last tournaments he entered in Beijing, the 28-year-old knows he will have a battle on his hands to close the gap on his fierce rival.

"Djokovic dominates almost all the tournaments," said the 2005 China Open winner in Beijing. "He's always there, semi-finals, finals, winning. He's one of the best players that I have ever seen. Normally he likes to play here. We'll see what happens this year."

Nadal said he felt ‘fine’ following his injury and that his motivation was ‘high’ heading into the tournament. "I just feel the wrist a little bit when I start to play every day, but then it disappears. I'm in good conditions to compete again.”