Maria Sharapova finally opened her account at the WTA Tianjin Open after two days of rain played havoc with the schedule.
The five-time Grand Slam champion took a wildcard into the event, easing past No. 9 seed Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets, overcoming a first break by the Romanian to win 6-4, 6-2.
There was less good news for two-time Wimbledon champion and No. 2 seed Petra Kvitova who was beaten by home hope Zhu Lin 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Sara Errani, who is returning from a two-month suspension for a failed drugs test earlier in the year, worked her way up through the qualifying rounds before her a straight sets win over Kateryna Kozlova 6-2, 6-1.
She was suspended after unknowingly ingesting letrozole, found in her mother's cancer medication, which inadvertently contaminated a home-cooked batch of tortellini.
With the rain delays, the eventual finalists will have to play five days in a row.