MALLORCA, Spain - No.4 seed Elise Mertens closed out the first day of main draw play at the Mallorca Open with a 6-2, 6-2 win over wildcard Andrea Petkovic.
"It's my third time here in Mallorca, and I'm really happy to be back," Mertens said.
"I just felt good today and for my first match of grass, I was a little bit nervous to get the win, but I'm really happy to get it."
It was smooth sailing for Mertens in her first-ever meeting against the former World No.9, as she lost serve just once - despite landing under 50 percent of her first serves in the match.
After they traded breaks to begin the opening set, it was the Belgian who was first to settle in, as she ran off four straight games to ease through the set.
The No.4 seed broke serve to love twice in that span, and dropped just three points in her two service games.
To maintain her lead, however, she held off an early challenge from Petkovic in the second set.
The German wildcard generated her two break point chances for the set in the same game, as Mertens served for the first time in the second, but could not convert for a 2-0 lead and immediately surrendered her own serve in response.
It kicked off a run of four straight games for the Belgian No.1, who nonetheless needed three match points to finally put away the 69-minute win.
She'll next face the winner of the match between former US Open champion Samantha Stosur and Zheng Saisai, who will play on Tuesday.
"I didn't really play them yet, so it's going to be first, second time meeting them," Mertens said.
"I'm going to watch the match a bit and we'll see how it goes."
