Wozniacki Gets Back on the Winning Track at KDB Korea Open
Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark defeated Arantxa Rus in 62 minutes, 6-1, 6-2 in opening round action at the 2012 KDB Korea Open. Wozniacki fell out of the WTA Top 10 rankings after a 2-6, 2-6 first round loss to Irina-Camelia Begu earlier in September at the 2012 U.S. Open, and is playing a tournament as a non-top 10 player for the first time in almost three-and-a-half years (the last time she did was at Madrid in May 2009). Wozniacki will face France’s Caroline Garcia in the second round.
I definitely played better today than I have for a while," Wozniacki said. "I’ve been practicing hard and I’m happy to see the results from that. I’m happy to be through. I’m just taking it one match at a time."
The other three seeds who advanced didn’t all have it as easy as Wozniacki, as eighth seeded Ekaterina Makarova beat Polona Hercog in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1; but sixth-seeded Varvara Lepchenko had to fend off six points in the second set to close out Camila Giorgi, 6-2, 7-6(1), and seventh-seeded Klara Zakopalova had to rally from 5-3 down in the third set to get past Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(1).
"I was number one for basically two years but things change—you always go up and down the rankings," Wozniacki said. "I’m still young, so there’s still going to be great wins and losses. It’s all just part of the game. All I can do is try my best. At the end of the year you see your ranking, and that’s it."
