Angelique Kerber began her quest for the No.1 ranking in style with a straight-sets win over Kristina Mladenovic at the Western & Southern Open.
Kerber started out on fire against the Frenchwoman before a tougher second set, eventually winning 6-0 7-5 to secure her place in the third round.
There she will meet Czech Barbora Strycova, who overcame No.14 seed Sam Stosur.
Kerber will rise to world No.1 if she wins the Cincinnati title this week.
That milestone would see her knock long-standing No.1 Serena Williams from top spot, a place Williams has held for 183 consecutive weeks.
Williams is just three weeks shy of levelling Steffi Graf’s all-time record of 186 straight weeks at No.1.
Kerber is enjoying a career-best season, highlighted by her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, a trip to the final at Wimbledon and winning the silver medal in singles at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
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