Wozniacki gets serious
Danish player’s clinical demolition of Brengle sounds a challenge for rivals at ASB Classic
It’s only early days, but Caroline Wozniacki sounded an ominous warning for her ASB Classic rivals yesterday. The Danish player demolished world No 85 Madison Brengle 6-3, 6-0, in a match that lasted less than an hour.
Brengle didn’t offer much — unlike last year when she defended superbly against US compatriot Serena Williams — but Wozniacki was clinical.
She broke Brengle on four occasions, fended off any chances that the American had and only dropped four points when her first serve landed.
It hasn’t always been that way in Auckland for Wozniacki, who has sometimes struggled to put away lesser-ranked opponents in the early rounds.
“I thought I played pretty well, especially considering it is the first match back of the year,” said Wozniacki. “It took me a couple of games to get the rhythm, and then I started playing better and better.
“I was trying to get my legs moving, trying to make the right decisions, waiting for the right shots to actually . . . go for it.”
The recently engaged Wozniacki has given off a relaxed, confident vibe since arriving in Auckland, epitomised by the fact she hadn’t checked who she would face in the second round today.
“I actually didn’t see the draw so I didn’t know who I was playing,” laughed Wozniacki, who takes on world No 90 Petra Martic this afternoon.
World No 3 Wozniacki has won all three of their previous encounters, though the pair haven’t met since 2012.
Agnieszka Radwanska will also bring her magic back to centre court today — much to the relief of ASB Classic organisers.
Around 7pm yesterday, there would have been some worried tournament officials around the arena, as Radwanska was down a break early in the third set, and looking slightly out of sorts against Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia.
With four seeds already gone, the depar- ture of the 2013 champion would have been a big blow for the event, but she recovered to win 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in just under two hours.
“It was a tough match,” said Radwanska. “She [Maia] was playing really solid and was confident on the court. We say the first match is always the hardest, you don’t know the conditions.
“You have to start from the beginning and there is a little bit of less pressure after the first round. ”
Radwanska, who faces American Taylor Townsend in the second round today, is a rare breed. At times it seems she’s playing tennis from the 1970s, when rackets were wooden and the game was all touch and technique, rather than pure power.
The 28-year-old Pole creates some wonderful angles, and on her last visit she played almost impeccable tennis, not dropping a set on the way to the title.
But the former world No 2 is coming off an awful 2017 season, arguably her worst in more than a decade.
There were mitigating circumstances. She battled a series of injuries during the year and was also hit by illness — but she also struggled to find her groove.
Her confidence and timing was off, and in a sport with such fine margins, it was enough to send her tumbling down the rankings, ending the year at No 28, outside the top 10 for the first time this decade.
But class, as they say, is permanent, so surely a renaissance is on the cards?
“Every match helps,” said Radwanska. “It’s step by step and we are taking it match by match and see how it goes. It’s always great to be back in a place where you have such great memories.”
Meanwhile, Kiwi wildcard Jade Lewis is out of the tournament, beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Slovakian qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova.
The 19-year-old Lewis had her moments, but couldn’t match the consistency of Kuzmova. Lewis will have a second opportunity today to play in front of her home crowd, teaming up with Taiwan’s Shu-Ying Hsieh in the doubles against second seeds Nao Hibino and Darija Jurak.