After a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1 win over Belinda Bencic in round one, world no. 1 Serena Williams looks confident of defending her title in Madrid this time.
The top-seeded American will face China's Peng Shuai in round two on Wednesday afternoon. Serena has not faced Peng in five years but has won both matches they played before that.
Where to Watch Live
Serena Williams vs Peng Shuai starts at 4.30 pm IST, 11 am GMT. The live coverage will be on Ten Sports HD in India, and for online viewers, the day's play will be live streamed in India and the UK HERE and HERE. ESPN will have live coverage for the US and Australia but to watch the action live online, click HERE or HERE.
In other news, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Li Na cruised through to round three. Sharapova battled through Christina McHale's attack to emerge victorious with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 scoreline. Next up for the Russian is the former French Open finalist Samantha Stosur.
"After a really good start to the match, I didn't keep that level," Sharapova said. "I didn't keep doing what I was doing. I think I had a bit of a letdown. But she's a good competitor - she won't just give matches away, and she works really hard out there, and I think she really showed that today [Tuesday]."
World no. 2 Li did not have much trouble defeating Zheng Jie in what was an all-Chinese round two clash. Though the Grand Slams and rankings belong to Li Na, Zheng had the upper hand in head-to-head encounters 4-3 before the match but they are level now after Li's 6-2, 6-3 victory on Tuesday night. The Chinese top seed will next face no.17 seed Sloane Stephens.
In another match between compatriots, Serbia's Ivanovic overcame Bojana Jovanovski 6-4, 6-2.
"It's always strange playing someone from your own country, and actually we'd never played before, though we have practiced a lot and played Fed Cup together," Ivanovic said of Jovanovski after the match on Tuesday. "It was a tough match today, especially in the first set, but I'm happy I was able to get through this one."
(Ed: VP)
