Sharapova beats Bacsinszky in Shenzhen

After calling quits on her season in September, Maria Sharapova has started the new one well with a straight sets win over Timea Bacsinszky in Shenzen.

Maria Sharapova returned to competitive tennis with a 6-2 7-6 (7-3) win against Timea Bacsinszky in the first round of Shenzhen Open on Monday.

Sharapova cut short her campaign in September to recover from shoulder complaint. The fifth-seeded Russian, a semifinalist here last year, hit 23 winners against the unseeded Swiss player.

Bacsinszky broke Sharapova's serve early in the first set and went 2-0 up in the second set, but the Swiss player was also erratic with 11 unforced errors and four double faults.

Sharapova, a five-time grand slam champion, next faces 17-year-old Wang Xinyu. She defeated Xun Fang Ying 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in an all-Chinese match.

Also in the first round, Ivana Jorovic of Serbia upset second-seeded Caroline Garcia of France 6-4 6-2 and Alison Riske of the United States defeated No.3 Wang Qiang of China 6-3 6-3.

Russian players Veronika Kudermetova and Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Ons Jabeur of Tunisia also reached the second round.