Petra Kvitova came from a set down to beat Katarzyna Piter on her return from injury at the Bad Homburg Open, while no play was possible in Eastbourne on Monday due to rain.
Kvitova withdrew from the French Open after suffering a freak ankle injury during her post-match media duties at Roland Garros.
The two-time Wimbledon champion recovered to get her grass-court season under way in Germany and battled to a 4-6 6-1 6-4 over Polish outsider Piter.
A week before the third grand slam of the year gets started at the All England Club, top seed Kvitova trailed 2-0 in the final set as she struggled with her serve, but broke three times to book a second-round meeting with Ann Li.
Sloane Stephens withdrew ahead of her scheduled match with Laura Siegemund due to a foot injury. Riya Bhatia stepped in with Stephens absent, but Siegemund consigned her to a 2-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-1 defeat.
Angelique Kerber needed only 50 minutes to see the back of Ekaterina Yashina 6-1 6-1 on home soil, grasping all five break-point opportunities.
Kerber will do battle with Anna Blinkova in round two and Jessie Pegula's next assignment is an encounter with Katerina Siniakova following a 6-1 6-2 defeat of Amandine Hesse.
Blinkova beat Clara Tauson 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-2, while Sara Sorribes Tormo saw off Martina Trevisan 6-4 3-6 6-2
Miserable weather in Eastbourne prevented Karolina Pliskova, Madison Keys, Bianca Andreescu and Madison Keys from playing at the Viking International.
Coco feels the Heat as Jimmy Butler watches Gauff win at Miami Open
Coco Gauff loves the inner "dog" in Jimmy Butler's basketball game and hopes the Miami Heat star saw plenty to admire about her own tenacity as she made a positive start at the Miami Open.
Winning 6-4 6-3 against Canadian Rebecca Marino got Gauff off the mark at this fortnight's WTA 1000 tournament, with the 19-year-old American very much at home in Florida.
Butler was watching at courtside, and the 33-year-old was so close Gauff could hardly ignore his presence.
"I mean, he was right next to my towels. I had no choice but to see him," Gauff said.
Gauff is a fan of the Heat, so to be watched by six-time NBA All-Star Butler was flattering for the teenager.
She is a high achiever herself, reaching the French Open final last year and setting up camp in the WTA top 10 rankings, so there was mutual respect, and the pair met up after Thursday's match.
"It was really cool because I love watching the Heat, they're my team. He has just that mentality, that dog in him, something that I really admire a lot," Gauff said. "I always do that when I'm on the court, but I was, like, I hope he sees that in me."
Gauff also spoke about having met players from the Buffalo Bills, the NFL franchise owned by world number three Jessica Pegula's parents.
"They might have been here for Jess, but I'm glad they stayed to watch my match," Gauff said.
Pegula beat Katherine Sebov in the match directly after Gauff's clash on the Stadium court.
Gauff said it was a "privilege" to be watched by fellow sports stars.
"I think it means more than maybe an actor or singer watching me, because it's like, as an athlete, finding the time to appreciate other sports is really hard," she said. "For them to want to do that, especially for a sport like tennis, which generally most of them don't understand, is really cool."
Gauff next faces Anastasia Potapova, the Russian player who beat Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk at the last-64 stage.
That match was notable largely for Kostyuk's refusal to shake hands afterwards with Potapova, a player who earlier this month was warned by the WTA for wearing a Spartak Moscow jersey at Indian Wells.
Russian and Belarusian players are competing under a neutral flag on the WTA Tour this season, amid the continuing invasion of Ukraine.
Pegula, Gauff and Rybakina highlight second-round winners at the Miami Open
Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff headlined a great day for the Americans at the Miami Open as they both advanced into the third round on Thursday.
Pegula, who is the second-highest seed remaining in the field after Iga Swiatek's withdrawal, had no issue dispatching Canada's Katherine Sebov 6-3 6-1 in just 66 minutes.
Gauff, the six seed, followed suit as she raced to a 6-4 6-3 win over Canadian Rebecca Marino in just 73 minutes.
Florida's own Danielle Collins thrilled her hometown crowd with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 triumph against Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova, and rising 22-year-old talent Clare Liu made it a perfect 4-0 sweep for the USA representatives by defeating Julia Grabher 6-4 6-3.
Last week's Indian Wells Open champion Elena Rybakina was made to work in her 7-5 4-6 6-3 win over Anna Kalinskaya, while an even more gruelling effort was required in Paula Badosa's two-hour-and-52-minute 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-2 result against Laura Siegemund.
The top seed to fall on Thursday was eighth seed Daria Kasatkina, as she won the first set before going down 4-6 6-2 6-2 against Elise Mertens.
Liudmila Samsonova, the 12th seed, made light work of Viktorija Golubic in a 6-1 6-1 drubbing, and 22nd seed Jelena Ostapenko prevailed 6-3 6-4 against Mirjam Bjorklund.
Ostapenko will next play 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia after she won a strange back-and-forth contest 7-6 (7-4) 0-6 6-0 over Tereza Martincova.
Gasquet prevails in Miami Open first round to book clash with Tsitsipas
Richard Gasquet will get a showcase match against second-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the Miami Open after prevailing 6-4 3-6 6-1 against Christopher O'Connell on Thursday.
The biggest names in the field learned their opponents after the 32 seeded entrant received byes into the second round of the Masters 1000 event, and Tsitsipas will be desperate to avoid a third consecutive loss after quick exits at the Rotterdam Open and Indian Wells Open in recent weeks.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev is waiting for Roberto Carbellas Baena after he blew away Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-0 3-0 (retired) in an all-Spanish showdown, while fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will meet Brazil's Thiago Monteiro in the second round after his 6-4 7-6 (8-6) triumph over Australia's Jason Kubler.
After O'Connell and Kubler both fell, Thanasi Kokkinakis flew the flag for Australia with a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (9-7) comeback against Belgian wildcard Zizou Bergs, and his reward will be a battle against Polish eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz.
France's Gregoire Barrere earned a big matchup against 11th seed Cameron Norrie after eliminating Roman Safiullin 6-4 3-6 6-3, and Safiullin's Russian compatriot Pavel Kotov will join him on an early flight home after going down 6-2 6-2 against recent Chile Open finalist Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
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