<img title="German Angelique Kerber returns during her second round match against France&rsquo;s Kristina Mladenovic in Wuhan yesterday. Pic/AFP" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/sep/28Angelique-Kerber-1.jpg" alt="German Angelique Kerber returns during her second round match against France&rsquo;s Kristina Mladenovic in Wuhan yesterday. Pic/AFP" /> German Angelique Kerber returns during her second round match against France&rsquo;s Kristina Mladenovic in Wuhan yesterday. Pic/AFP 
Wuhan (China): Angelique Kerber survived a scare in her first match as World No. 1 before beating Kristina Mladenovic in three sets at the Wuhan Open on Tuesday.
The US and Australian Open champion, who had a bye in the first round, made a convincing start before missing two set points and allowing Mladenovic to take the first set in a tie break.
But the German then swept through the rest of the match, winning 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-4 to set up a third-round meeting with two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
"I was trying to find my rhythm because I was not playing my best in the first set," top seed Kerber, said after the match. Kvitova said she would be trying not to think about Kerber's new status as World No. 1 when they play today.
"(It) will be for the first time... that I will play her as a number one, which is a little bit different.
"But I think if I'm on the court, I don't really think about that," she told reporters.
Radwanska advances World No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska also romped into the third round, as last year's US Open finalist Roberta Vinci became the tournament's first seeded casualty.
One-time Wimbledon runner-up Radwanska won 6-4, 6-1 against Russia's Ekaterina Makarova, who bagged Olympic women's doubles gold last month in Rio. Italy's Vinci, ranked 15, was ousted by Yaroslava Shvedova 7-5, 6-2 &mdash; her second defeat at the hands of the Kazakh this year.
Radwanska will next meet an in-form Caroline Wozniacki, who defeated qualifier Kateraina Siniakova 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday, in the third round of the $2.6 million hardcourt event. Former top ranked player Wozniacki extended her winning streak to seven matches.
Sania-Barbora on the move India's Sania Mirza and her doubles partner Barbora Strycova from Czech Republic notched up a hard-fought win over Gabriela Dabrowski and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez to advance to the third round
The Indo-Czech pair, who clinched their second title last week at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, edged out their Canadian-Spanish rivals 3-6, 6-3, 10-5 in the second round match that lasted for an hour and 15 minutes here.
Sania and Strycova will now take on the winners of the match between Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova and Timea Bacsinszky and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Venus Williams downed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2, and will next play Kuznetsova of Russia. The pair have not met on court since 2009. American Madison Brengle fell to Kuznetsova 6-0, 6-4 as Madison Keys beat Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-4.

German Angelique Kerber struggles in her first game as World No. 1 before overcoming Kristina Mladenovic 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-4 in second-round tie

Angelique Kerber struggles in first game as world number 1

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German Angelique Kerber struggles in her first game as World No. 1 before overcoming Kristina Mladenovic 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-4 in second-round tie

Angelique Kerber struggles in first game as world number 1

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Home / Sports / Other Sports / Article / Angelique Kerber struggles in first game as world number 1

Angelique Kerber struggles in first game as world number 1

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