Rising star Belinda Bencic made a winning comeback from injury as the Swiss teenager beat Alison van Uytvanck in the second round of the Ricoh Open.
Bencic, ranked eighth in the world, is considered one of the game's most exciting young talents but the 19-year-old has been out for two months with a back injury.
Fit again, however, and looking to regain some grass-court rhythm ahead of Wimbledon later this month, Bencic came through a tough test to beat Van Uytvanck 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7/3) in s'Hertogenbosch.
"I'm just very happy to be back on the court again, without pain," Bencic told the WTA's official website.
"I missed the competition and playing matches like this. I was very happy today - nothing hurt and even if I lost this match, I'm just really happy to be back on the court and fight for every point.
"I think it was a very tough way to come back but I just want to go like this match by match."
Van Uytvanck reached the French Open quarter-finals last year but has slipped to 132nd in the world after struggling with injuries herself.
The defeat to Bencic was the Belgian's first match since March after she only recently recovered from a foot problem.
"We always have tough battles," Bencic said of her opponent. "She plays very different. It's hard for me to play her and I think it's hard for her to play me.
"Of course, she likes grass, her game suits grass and she played very good today as well."
Also through to the second round is number two seed Jelena Jankovic, who beat Katerina Siniakova 6-4 6-2.
Jankovic, 31, was a Wimbledon quarter-finalist three years ago but the veteran admits it took her time to adjust to the faster surface.
"I'm very happy to be through in my first match on grass," Jankovic said. "It's my first tournament on this surface so I did not start very well.
"I'm happy that I was able to stay strong and win in straight sets."
Number three seed Kristina Mladenovic is also through after beating Yaroslava Shvedova while Latvian teenager Jelena Ostapenko conceded just one game en route to a comfortable win over Jovana Jaksic.
Source: PA
