Bianca Andreescu had to dig deep as the Canadian teenager won her first match since her US Open heroics with victory in the China Open first round Monday.
The 19-year-old defeated 60th-ranked Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in what was at times an unconvincing performance.
Andreescu, the new star of women’s tennis, finished the match with 31 unforced errors.
The world No 6, who stunned Serena Williams in the final at Flushing Meadows, arrived in Beijing on a run of 13 wins in a row.
She looked all set to carry on her blistering form against Sasnovich and emphatically captured the first set.
But Andreescu struggled with her serve in the second, totting up six double faults and was in danger of losing her cool in the haze of the Chinese capital.
Normal order was restored in the deciding set, Andreescu breaking Sasnovich’s first service game and then holding her own to take a 3-0 lead and an advantage she refused to surrender.
The Canadian sensation next plays Elise Mertens, the world No 23 from Belgium.