Maria Sakkari looked convincing in her Singapore opener, beating Linda Fruhvirtova 6-4, 6-1 with the kind of clean, front-foot tennis that has been missing for long stretches of her season. The seventh seed will take that performance as confirmation the indoor conditions suit her.
Nao Hibino needed considerably more effort, edging past Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in a match that ran close to two and a half hours. Hibino qualified into the main draw, so this is already her fourth match of the week at OCBC Arena. Fatigue becomes a real variable against an opponent who moves as well as Sakkari does.
Styles line up badly for Hibino. Her game is built on absorbing pace, taking the ball early and redirecting, which works on slower courts where the ball sits up. Indoors in Singapore the ball comes through fast and Sakkari's forehand gets rewarded for hitting behind her.
Sakkari's problem all year has been closing out sets rather than winning rallies. She should still have too much here.
Sakkari in straight sets.