<p>STUTTGART, Germany — Eighth-seeded Belinda Bencic had to face down a stubborn performance by a 17 year old on tour debut to reach the second round of the Porsche Grand Prix on Monday.</p>
<p>Bencic was broken once in the first set and needed six match points against Nastasja Schunk to finish a 6-4, 6-2 win. </p>
<p>With a ranking of 928, the young German is more used to playing junior events and came through qualifying in Stuttgart for her first WTA main draw.</p>
<p>Bencic will play Ekaterina Alexandrova or Karolina Muchova in the second round. It was the Swiss player’s first win on clay since the 2019 French Open. </p>
<p>Maria Sakkari beat German wild card Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-2. Sakkari broke Petkovic four times in a chaotic opening set. Sakkari next plays seventh-seeded Petra Kvitova or Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady.</p>
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