Victoria Azarenka returns to the tour after giving birth to her son, Leo, and Sabine Lisicki also makes her 2017 debut after a shoulder injury suffered last November…

“I think she played a good match. It was a tough first round,” Kerber said. “I had a few chance in the first set and also in the second set, and I didn’t make it. I think that was the key for the match. I believed in the second set, as well, that I can turn around the match and I was still believing until the last point, but she played well.”

Upset alert for (2) Pliskov vs. Zheng, who upset Svitolina in Madrid…Other tough starts for (20) Barbora Strycova vs. Riske (winner to meet the French upset specialist Cornet), and (19) Vandeweghe vs. Rybarikova who the American lost her last meeting against…

“It’s my first time beating the No. 1 in the world, so, you know, I’m super excited,” said the player ranked outside the Top 50.

“I apologize for having to withdraw from my match today with a left thigh injury,” Sharapova said in a statement.

Bouchard in advancing to a career-first Madrid quarterfinal round will next face No. 8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who defeated China’s Wang Qiang 6-4, 7-5.

Simona Halep won a tight battle of former Grand Slam finalists.

Eugenie Bouchard picked up her first career win over Maria Sharapova. Oh so sweet!

“It’s a very difficult [opening] match,” Konta said of Siegemund. “I’m playing someone, Laura, who’s coming off a great result in Stuttgart. She beat a lot of great players so I know she’s playing well on this surface. I’m looking forward to the challenge, to play someone who’s playing well on this surface and improve my game as well.”

Maria Sharapova already looks better than Angelique Kerber!

The Russian denied the world No. 1 Kerber her first title of the season, racing to a 5-0 lead in the final set before closing it out.

“I was so close to winning, I was two points away in the tiebreak, but she played very strong and deserved to win today,” Halep said. “But my confidence is there, the game is there — I just need to play matches.”

Who will be in the other women’s semifinal in Miami?

The quarterfinal line-up at Miami is all set.

“It was a good match,” said Kerber, who was down a break in both sets. “I was trying to feel my game again. I was moving good, but it was not so easy because she didn’t play badly. I was trying to stay positive and play my tennis.”