Zheng Qinwen smoothly defeated Sorana Cîrstea 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round of the Porsche Grand Prix on Tuesday, despite enduring a long trip from China to the clay-court tournament.
Ranked seventh, Zheng traveled from Changsha to Beijing, then Frankfurt, before finally reaching Stuttgart. Despite the journey, she showed no signs of jet lag and secured her victory in 76 minutes.
In the next round, Zheng will face either Marta Kostyuk or former champion Laura Siegemund.
Jasmine Paolini also started strong with a commanding win, defeating her Italian compatriot and doubles partner Sara Errani 6-1, 6-0 in just 46 minutes. Paolini now awaits the winner between Ekaterina Alexandrova and Ons Jabeur.
Later on Tuesday, Wimbledon champion Markéta Vondroušová was set to play Donna Vekic, while Linda Noskova was up against Jeļena Ostapenko.
Tatjana Maria was facing Elise Mertens for a chance to advance to the second round and potentially face two-time defending champion Iga Świątek.
Świątek aims to become the first three-time champion in Stuttgart since Maria Sharapova won from 2012 to 2014. The tournament features eight of the top-10 ranked women.
