Caroline Garcia, Petra Kvitova progress from first round of Berlin Open

BERLIN (AP) — Caroline Garcia has defeated local favorite Sabine Lisicki 7-6, 6-3 and Petra Kvitova also progressed from the first round of the Berlin Open. The third-seeded Garcia was made to fight hard till she made the decisive break at 4-3 in the second set. The French player saved the three break points she faced and converted two from 13 opportunities. The 33-year-old Lisicki reached the Wimbledon final in 2013 but has had to contend with numerous injury setbacks in recent years and is ranked 308th. Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova earlier defeated Czech compatriot Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-4. Croatia’s Donna Vekic defeated Russian player Varvara Gracheva 6-3, 6-2.