Wickmayer wins on return

Yanina Wickmayer returned from an enforced two-month absence to win her first round match at the Auckland Classic on Monday.

Belgian delighted to be back on court after 'drugs' ban

Yanina Wickmayer returned from an enforced two-month absence to win her first round match at the Auckland Classic on Monday. The Belgian was granted a wildcard entry after a court last month lifted a year-long ban that had been imposed after she fell foul of her country's anti-doping body's "whereabouts rule". Wickmayer raced through the first set against German Julia Georges then cruised to a 5-3 advantage in the second set, closing the match out at her second opportunity to complete victory 6-3 7-5. "I was really happy to play," admitted the US Open semi-finalist. "It's been a tough time for me so it was really nice for me to be on court again and compete. "It was a pretty tough match. I knew her from before and knew I had to be very aggressive, otherwise she was going to do it. "She was playing really well, but I was the more aggressive on important points. It was a tough one and I'm glad I pulled through." Seeded three, she will next face Britain's Elena Baltacha or Romania's Ioana Raluca Olaru in the second round. Top seed Flavia Pennetta advanced on Monday, cruising past American Jill Craybas 6-2 6-4, while there was also success for Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm, who produced the first upset of the tournament when she accounted for Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-1 6-2.