By Chris Oddo | Tuesday June 20, 2017
Petra Kvitova made her return to the grass with a decisive victory on Tuesday at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England.
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The 27-year-old Czech, playing just her second event since returning from the surgery that was needed to repair her left hand after injuries incurred during a home invasion last December, scored a 6-3, 6-2 victory over compatriot Teresa Smitkova to set up a second-round encounter with Naomi Broady. Kvitova, who reached the second round at Roland Garros in her 2017 debut, won 32 of 40 first-serve points and saved both break points she faced to cruise to victory in 84 minutes.
The two-time Wimbledon champion improved to 42-15 lifetime on grass with the win. She lost in the second round to Jelena Ostapenko at Birmingham last season.
Elsewhere at Birmingham, No.4-seeded Johanna Konta worked her way past Lesia Tsurenko, 6-3, 7-6(6), while No.9-seeded Daria Gavrilova got by Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-4, 6-4.
CoCo Vandeweghe (d. McHale), Ashleigh Barty (d. Vondrousova) and Katerina Siniakova (d. Hibino) were also winners on Tuesday at Birmingham.