<p>STUTTGART, Germany — Simona Halep returned from injury to start her clay-court season with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Marketa Vondrousova on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Porsche Grand Prix.</p>
<p>The third-ranked Romanian was back on court for the first time since a shoulder injury forced her out of the Miami Open last month, and in only her second match since her straight-sets loss to Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarterfinals in February.</p>
<p>There was no sign of rust as Halep wrapped up her win over Vondrousova in less than an hour without facing a single break point. She plays either eighth-seeded Belinda Bencic or Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarterfinals.</p>
<p>Karolina Pliskova hit 21 aces as she set up a meeting with top-ranked Ash Barty in the quarterfinals by beating former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-3.</p>
<p>Fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka swept past Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-4, 6-2. Sabalenka next faces Anett Kontaveit after the Estonian eliminated Sofia Kenin on Wednesday.</p>
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