LINZ, Austria - Former World No.9 Andrea Petkovic kicked off her Upper Austria Ladies Linz campaign with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Palermo Ladies Open champion Jil Teichmann to reach the second round.
A semifinalist in Linz last year - and once before in 2010 - Petkovic wasted little time in rediscovering that form, advancing after 68 minutes on Centre Court.
Though she enjoyed an impressive run to the third round of the US Open back in September, the German went through the Asian Swing without winning back-to-back main draw matches - though she qualified for the China Open, falling to eventual champion and former World No.1 Naomi Osaka.
Against Teichmann, Petkovic edged through several long games to take a 4-1 lead, breaking serve three times to ultimately snatch the opening set.
The second set saw the 22-year-old Swiss briefly turn the tables on Petkovic, breaking to open, only for the 2014 French Open semifinalist to regain control and win the final six games of the match, winning with a forehand letcord winner.
In all, she lost just six points behind her first serve and engineered 14 break points - converting six - while allowing Teichmann just one break point opportunity in two sets.
Standing between Petkovic and a spot in the quarterfinals is either No.5 seed and 2011 Linz runner-up Julia Goerges or Russian Margarita Gasparyan.
