Wozniacki Battles Back to Move into Tokyo Quarterfinals

Caroline Wozniacki fought back from a set down to defeat Australian qualifier Jarmila Gajdosova 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 to move into the Toray Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals in Tokyo. The U.S. Open finalist faced an array of winners off Gajdosova’s racket, but was able to play her defensive style in the final two sets. Despite hitting no aces, the Dane notched six break points in eight opportunities, including three in the final set, to avoid the upset.

“She was playing really well, so I just tried to fight for every point,” said Wozniacki, who won this tournament back in 2010. “It took me a little while to get into it, and she was hitting a very heavy ball. At the same time, I was hitting too short and this gave her the opportunity to be very aggressive. I got a bit lucky in the second set, but managed to win it and then do the same in the third—it was a very close match.”

Playing in her first match since the U.S. Open finals, Wozniacki came out a bit rusty in the opener. She was able to rally and move into the quarterfinals, where she will take on eighth-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez-Navarro who took out Russian Daria Gavrilova, 7-6(5), 6-3.

While the former world number one Wozniacki avoided the upset and moved on, another former world number one didn’t fare as well. Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic, seeded fourth in this tournament, was ousted by Garbine Muguruza of Spain 7-6(4), 6-4

The French Open quarterfinalist, who beat Serena Williams on her way to the final eight at Roland Garros, was traling Jankovic for the majority of the opening set. After a key break point forced it into a tie-break, Muguruza was able to steal the first frame. As both players struggled to hold serve in the second set, Muguruza was finally able to hold her ground when it counted and capture the match in straight sets.

“I’m really happy with this match, because she’s an ex-world number one and a Top 10 player, and also because I lost to her a few years ago, so this is like another step forward,” said Muguruza. “Two years ago, mentally I was a disaster! Now I’ve improved a lot and I think this is the difference in my game more than the technical part.”

The 20-year old moves another step closer to her second title of 2014, having one the Hobart International in Australia earlier this year. In her quarterfinal bout in Tokyo, she will take on Australian Casey Dellacqua, who defeated her compatriot Marina Erakovic 6-2, 6-4.

In the other two quarterfinal matches, top-seeded Angelique Kerber will take on Dominika Cibulkova, while Ana Ivanovic duels with Lucie Safarova.