Andreescu makes winning return; Kasatkina downs Gauff in Stuttgart

For the first time in seven months, the world's heard "Game, set and match, Andreescu."

The 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu made a winning return to the Hologic WTA Tour on Tuesday at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with a 7-6(5), 6-3 opening round win against Jule Niemeier of Germany.

The former World No. 4, now ranked No. 121, last played in October at the BNP Paribas Open and told WTA Insider ahead of her season debut that she was considering retirement during her recent break from tennis, but that her competitive fire recently returned.

And that fire was on full display in her 1-hour, 44-minute victory inside Porsche Arena against local favorite Niemeier, where she rallied from 5-3 down in the opener and saved a set point before turning the match around.

Andreescu's assessment: "I felt that it took me a while to get my rhythm, but she presented very good tennis," Andreescu told WTA Insider after the match.

"I'm just super happy with how I dealt with everything; especially towards the end of the match, I felt like I had a clear mindset, but it was definitely very emotional, so to get out of that state was hard, but I'm glad that I managed. 

"I got a little teary-eyed at one changeover, because I was like, 'Oh my god, I'm back playing again and I'm feeling good.'" 

Andreescu also saved two break points at 5-5 en route to her first clay-court win in nearly a full year. In her tournament debut, she moves on to face No. 3 seed and last year's finalist Aryna Sabalenka for what will be their first tour-level meeting. It'll be just her second match against a Top 10 opponent in three years and first on clay. 

"I'm happy to play her finally on the tour at this level," Andreescu said. "She's a hard hitter, she loves her serve, she loves her forehand and she's a great fighter. I'm going to have to bring my 'A' game, because I know she'll bring hers."

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Stat check: Andreescu's first match since October couldn't have gone better on the stat sheet, either. She hit 22 winners and six aces to 17 unforced errors and saved 5-of-6 break points she faced, while also breaking World No. 108 Niemeier three times. She's now on a 27-match winning streak against players ranked outside the Top 100. 

Kasatkina cools off Gauff after hot start

To close out the day, Daria Kasatkina also rallied from an early deficit to take out Coco Gauff.

From 4-0 down in the first set, Kasatkina ran off 12 of the next 14 games in a 6-4, 6-2 victory, improving her head-to-head record against Gauff to 2-0. She last beat Gauff at the 2019 Miami Open, before the then-15-year-old became a worldwide sensation later that summer her Round 4 run at Wimbledon, and now, a Top 20 player. Gauff entered Tuesday's match ranked 10 spots ahead of Kasatkina as World No. 16.

Kasatkina moves on to face No. 7 seed Ons Jabeur in what will be their fifth career meeting. They've split the first four, but have never played on clay.