After serving a 15-month ban for failing a drugs test, former world number one and five-time Grand Slam tennis champion Maria Sharapova will make her long-awaited comeback in Stuttgart on Wednesday.
Svetlana Kuznetsova (8) beat Kiki Bertens 6-3 5-7 6-3 in a typical marathon affair for the Russian veteran, with Laura Siegemund, Barbora Strycova and Anastasija Sevastova also first-round winners.
Sharapova, a three-time victor of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, was initially slapped with a two-year ban for using meldonium after the heart drug was added to the list of banned substances early last year. The ban was reduced from two years to 15 months last October by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"I don't agree about the wild card here and about the wild card in Rome and the other tournaments", former US Open finalist Roberta Vinci said earlier this week.
On a quiet day in the office as the Monday was given over to the end of qualifying and continual dramatic rehearsals for the grand celebration of 40 years of the tournament, Roberta Vinci took all the hubbub in her stride.
She has already missed the cut-off date for the Roland Garros main draw, but can gain the necessary ranking points to make the qualifying if she reaches the final this week in Stuttgart. If she advances, Sharapova could face an intriguing second-round match against Radwanska, who spoke out firmly against the Russian's wild card last week.
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Said Gimelstob: "I have very high expectations for her". Lastly, her forehands and first serves may be a weapon as Vinci can dictate play with those bullet forehands, and strong first serves will help to open up the court for her and move Sharapova around. Many tennis professionals and commentators have criticized the sport's lenient approach to allow Sharapova to return with the benefits of wild cards as opposed to having to rebuild her career and rankings from scratch - as an initial reported suggested would happen at next month's French Open.
Clijsters, who was tournament director of the Diamond Games in Antwerp when the event was last held in 2015, added that "it's up to the tournaments whoever they want to give a wild card or not".
She has not played a competitive match since losing to Serena Williams in the quarter finals of the Australian Open in 2016. German Fed Cup captain Barbara Rittner said at the weekend that "Sharapova should have started from zero again", meaning entering smaller tournaments and the qualification stage of the bigger events.
Sharapova was soon bringing her superior firepower to bear, although she was pressing too hard at times on the forehand, giving it a scattergun effect. If Maria places well or even wins the tournament at Stuttgart, she could also qualify for the tournament.
And yet Williams needed Sharapova to be removed from the scene before she could be No1 on the rich list. She competes in Stuttgart in an indoor tournament, as a wildcard. "Behind (Rafael) Nadal, he is the best clay-court player".
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