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Stuttgart (AP) - Former tournament winner Laura Siegemund started the clay court season with difficulty but successfully and challenged world number one Ashleigh Barty in the round of 16.
In the German first-round duel with Mona Barthel from Neumünster, the Swabian local hero prevailed on Tuesday 6: 4, 3: 6, 6: 1.
She was satisfied, but did not play her best tennis, said the number two of the German tennis women in the almost empty Porsche Arena.
In her first match after leaving Miami due to knee problems, the Fed Cup player made numerous mistakes.
After losing the set, Siegemund disappeared into the dressing room and didn't give Barthel a chance.
On Wednesday (not before 6.30 p.m.) the 33-year-old will play against the top seeded Australian Barty for the quarter-finals.
Siegemund clearly lost the only game against the 2019 French Open winner last year in Doha - but on hard court.
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On Wednesday lunchtime (not before 1.30 p.m.) the three-time Grand Slam tournament winner Angelique Kerber also wants to secure a sense of achievement. The 33-year-old from Kiel intervenes in the tournament against the outsider Ekaterine Gorgodse from Georgia. A win against the number 215 in the world is a must for Kerber. On the second day of the tournament, when Anna-Lena Friedsam as well as Siegemund entered the second round, the Kiel woman got in the mood with a success in doubles with Andrea Petkovic.
Petkovic was eliminated in the singles on Monday like Talent Nastasja Schunk.
On Tuesday, 18-year-old Julia Middendorf also said goodbye on her WTA debut with a 2: 6, 3: 6 against the clearly favored Estinian Anett Kontaveit.
Friedsam decided the first round duel between two qualifiers clearly against the Norwegian Ulrikke Eikeri 6: 2, 6: 0.
"I had to bite through a bit, otherwise it would have got a little tighter," said the 27-year-old from Andernach and missed the home crowd: that you get into a river for yourself and that you stay focused. "
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210420-99-282753 / 3
Tournament tableau