Serena Williams, who captured the Rogers Cup in 2001 and 2011, easily won her opening match this year by beating former French Open champ Francesca Schiavone in straight sets on Wednesday.
The top seeded Williams eliminated Italy’s Schiavone 6-3, 6-2 in the WTA Tour’s $2.4 million hardcourt tournament.
“She’s a grand slam champion so I had to really focus,” said Williams, who was the runner-up in Toronto in 2000.
“I made a few errors but it’s my first match on hard (courts) in a really long time.” Williams next faces Kirsten Flipkens, who beat Dutch qualifier Kiki Bertens 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.
Flipkens ousted Venus Williams in the first round earlier this week, but this will be her first clash against Serena Williams.u00a0
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