Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka celebrated her 24th birthday with a 6-2 6-3 defeat of fellow grand slam winner Francesca Schiavone to reach the quarter-finals of the Southern California Open.
The top seed’s victory was an important marker as she played her first match in nearly six weeks after withdrawing with an ankle injury in her Wimbledon second round.
“Going on court and competing was such a joy,” said the winner of 16 career WTA titles who went through gruelling rehab to get her damaged ankle right. “I was excited to play, I’ve never quite felt like that before a match.
“I really wanted to go out there and compete.”
The top seed will wait for a Friday opponent as Ursula Radwanska plays Serb sixth seed Jelena Jankovic.
Serb Ana Ivanovic, seeded seventh, closed out the first round as she beat Slovak holder Dominika Cibulkova 4-6 6-3 6-2.
Ivanovic is going it alone after a long post-Wimbledon pause and a split with long-time British coach Nigel Sears.
She said she didn’t pick up a racquet for a fortnight after her second-round Wimbledon upset loss to Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard, and spent some time with her family on a Spanish beach holiday.
Ivanovic is back to work with a new all-Serbian team comprising a fulltime fitness coach, physio and a sparing partner who also helps her plot match strategy.
“I needed a change, we both did,” she said of the amicable split with Sears, father of Andy Murray’s girlfriend Kim. “It’s just about hearing a new voice. There was a lot of repetition in the relationship and I didn’t feel like I was progressing in my game.
“I wasn’t going where I wanted to go. It was frustrating for him as well. I”m sure he wanted to get the best out of me. I had to do something radical.”
Ivanovic will stick with her new team and is not rushing to hire a new coach just yet. She can call on the coaching team of sponsor Adidas as well during tournaments.”
The Serb, who stood world No.1 in 2008 after winning the French Open, said that her down time from tennis was well worth it.
“Resting helped me to have a fresh mind. Today I felt very strong on the court. I’m happy with my performance, this was a tough comeback win. It means a lot to me.”
Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova made a winning start to her US Open run-up season with a 6-1 6-2 defeat of British No.1 Laura Robson.
Italian fourth seed Roberta Vinci beat American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4 6-2 at the La Costa resort.