Being more positive is paying off for former No. 1 Naomi Osaka early in her clay-court season. Osaka kicked off her clay campaign with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over qualifier Anastasia Potapova in the first round on the Madrid Open center court on Friday.
Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins won the last eight games to advance 7-5, 6-0 over Monica Puig, the Olympic gold medallist in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Puig is returning to action following shoulder and bicep surgeries.
The Puerto Rican has appeared in only four matches since her first major surgery in 2019.
Another American to advance was 12th-seeded Jessica Pegula against Camila Giorgi, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. Madison Keys was eliminated by fourth-seeded Maria Sakkari 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-4.
Seventh-seeded Garbine Muguruza, one of the home-crowd favourites in the Spanish capital, defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-2, while Leylah Fernandez, the US Open runner-up, beat Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.
In a match between 19-year-olds, wild card Marta Kostyuk beat Clara Tauson 6-3, 6-2.
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