Elise Mertens became the first WTA Tour main-draw winner of 2020 by easing past Lesia Tsurenko in the first round of the Shenzhen Open on Sunday.

Third seed Mertens dropped serve in the opening game but instantly recovered and went on to claim a 6-3 6-3 victory over Tsurenko, who was playing her first match back from four months out with an elbow injury.

Next up for the Belgian will be wildcard Wang Xiyu, who came from a set down to beat Sorana Cirstea 3-6 6-1 6-1.

Seeds Ekaterina Alexandrova (5) and Zhang Shuai (8) advanced in straight sets, with Kateryna Bondarenko and Wang Yafan the other winners.